FIREMEN IN THEATRES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20987, 25 September 1931, Page 10

FIREMEN IN THEATRES.

BY-LAW REVISED. DIRECT EMPLOYMENT. Reporting upon a resolution passed by the City Council in August, to revise the by-law requiring the attendance of firemen in theatres and to require proprietors to provide duly qualified firemen at their own cost, as in Wellington, the council's Legal and By-laws Committee recommended last evening that the phraseology of the Wellington City Council's licence be adopted. This requires tlie appointments of all firemen to bo approved by the superintendent of the fire brigade. The committee proposed, however, that two suggestions from the Auckland superintendent bo incorporated, namely, that the requirement be limited to buildings seating 500 persons or more, and that the firemen be required to wear uniform. A letter was received from the Auckland Houses of Entertainment and Places of Amusement Employees' Union, objecting to the proposed removal of theatre firemen from the control of the Fire Board to the direct control of the theatre proprietors. The Mayor, Mr. G. W. Hutchison, remarked that the only difference would be that the men would be employed by the theatre proprietors, whereas at present they were provided by the Fire Board, which made a charge for their services. Under the new arrangement, which the Wellington City Council found to work perfectly satisfactorily, the appointees would have to be approved by the superintendent and wear fire brigade uniform. The committee's recommendations were adopted.