CRAZY CHRISTCHURCH.
Kmbecite, Village-like Fire Fighting
Arrangements.
About the most farcical thing that can be witnessed m Christchurch is when the fire bell rings m the day time, and & Dig fire is on and may take a bit' of stopping. 'The city possesses an excellent fire-fighting nlant, and is well staffed, but it hasn't a horse to its name. The parsimonious authorities, who ought to he handed ■ for three minutes, refuse to go to the expense of providing nags and stabling therefor, so the water-cart horses have to be requisitioned ; and as the water. carts don't han* round the fire station all day pretty considerable time is lost before they can be unhitched and got to tlie station to get linked on to the engines. When iihe bell tolls the carts may be dropping moisture miles away, and. to see the drivers gallop the big lumbering brute® through the streets is a"treat. When a high wind is blowing all the bells m the community; bar refreshment dinner hells, are rung, m order that the knights of the water carts may know that flames are raging. The other day,, when the Dig fire occurred at A. J. White's;, the bells . rang for fully five ( minutes, and there was a long delay before the brigade got properly into action. And all the time thousands of pounds worth of valuable property was being destroyed. It's about time Christchurch. business people woke up from their somnolency and ordered the 'authorities 'to put matters on a better footing.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTR19061229.2.44.7
Bibliographic details
NZ Truth, Issue 80, 29 December 1906, Page 6
Word Count
253CRAZY CHRISTCHURCH. NZ Truth, Issue 80, 29 December 1906, Page 6
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