FIRE BOARDS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14155, 6 March 1908, Page 3

FIRE BOARDS.

DUNEDIN.

The fortnightly meeting of tho Dunedin (Firo Board, hold lust evening in Mr Hamann's office, Crawford street, was attended by tho chairman (Mr F. G. Cray) Messrs J. Arkle, J.E. White, J. Wilson' T. Chalmev, A. J. Sullivan, and \V. L Bolam.

Superintendent Mitchell reported, re position of street alarms, that these wore on the Moreo system-a system which had proved itself to bo reliable. The Superintendent also reported that the brigade frequently received fake alarms, the result of carelessness, from May-Oatway fire alarms, and suggeslcd that, in cases of (also alarms, those using these alarms should be called upon to pay costs inourred.

-' ' THE FIRE BMCUH! AND FIRES. Sir Chalmor said, in 'regard'to the time which it took tho brigade to reach fires from tho time of receiving alarms, if tho record was taken by members of tho bngado they wore not, perhaps, so reliable as if taken by someone else. Tho captain and his men were too busy when proceeding and attending to a lire to pay particular attention to the lapse of time. There were statements that between (he giving of an alarm and the arrival of the bngado at a fire the. time in one instance exceeded that reported by tho brigade. Speaking from observations at the fire at Thomson and Co.'s, there was something wrong in the discipline of the brigade, and the impression left on his mind was that the. brigade was not so well, drilled or disciplined as it might be. In the matter of giving orders, he observed that orders given in one instaiice were contradicted 111 another, and that should not occur with a trained body. He. thought the board should make some inquiries into the manner in which the brigade was drilled. He did not mean, in his reference to Thomson and Co.'s fire, that Captain Mitchell was in any wav responsible for the contradictory orders referred to, as the captain at the time was inside tho building, and was not aware of what was occurring outside Mr J. E. Whitti thought it was necessary to get a live, smart young man in connection with tho brigade, and until that was doho they would always have trouble. Tho superintendent whi>n on duty at a fire should be in a position whoro lie could best command his men. Mr Arklo: Captain Mitchell should bo tho last man to go into a. building when there is a fire.

Mr White:'l think so.

Mr Sullivan: There should he someone , outside with authority to give orders when the captain has to go inside a building. Mr Arkle: Tho only man we can look to in these matters is tho chief.. There seems to be a necessity for members of the board being told off at intervals to . vi6it the' brigade buildings, so that we may become' thoroughly acquainted with the equipment, drill, and discipline, and get a general view as, to the .working of things.

Mj. Bolam: It is a function of the Building and Plant Committee to visit the 8^ 10n n whe " ifc is [hon to bn necessary. _ Mr Wilson said he thought the superintendent was the best judge of where he should go and what he should, do when attending a fire. • He was the man most liltely to know where he would be of the most use. 1 Mr Bolam. said that at Thomson and| Co.s. firo; some delay arose'through the lndder used, and he asked if it was, not possibkvto get a ladder/whioh would reach up to three 'storeys without tho delay that now occurred*

The Chairman said, with regard to Thomson and Co.'s fire, some confusion certainly did arise, owing to a multiplicity of orders, but for this, as Mr Chalmer had pointed out, Captain Mitchell was not, personally responsible, as ho was inside the building with the hose. F- .greed with the suggestion that wWe the captain of the brigade felt himself called upon to go into a building 6omeone should have authority to give orders outside. On tho motion of Mr White, if, was resolved that'the matters referred to in the discussion be referred to the Building and Plant Committee to inquire and report. The Chairman remarked that at Blailnc's fire tho brigade had done valuable work in preventing a serious conflagration, and he read a'report from the brigade showing that only four minutes elapsed beforo its arrival at a fire, whereas it was stated that 17 minutes had elapsed. OKNBUAI,.

Tho ■ Finance Committee recommended that a sum'of £7 10s be' granted to delegates, of tho Fire Brigade to attend the conference at Masterton, and that £'i 10s be voted for annual subscription of the brigade to the Fire Brigades' Association. Tho bank pass-book showed a credit ■balance of £805 7s, in addition to £1500 placed on deposit for six months.. The

committee reported that leave of absence

had been granted to Captain Mitchell for 14- days and recommended that £10 be voted towards his exepnses in visiting Mas- , torton.' The sum of £25, increase of salary to tho secretary was recommended.— Adopted The Buildings and Want Committee reported as folows: — Your ccmraitteo begs to report, having visited the hill parts of the city for the purpose of determining the requirements for suppression of-fires,'and whether any iieces; Eity for a sub-station or statins exists. The committeo is of opinion that' one sub-station ■will be sufficient to cope with any fires which may take placo in the neighbourhood of CsHiongate. Arthur street, Kussofl street Eoyal terrace, Heriot row, London street, and Pitt street, etc., etc. A sub-station established on the hill parts can be easily worked in conjunction with the central station, ot even with the suburban stations. There'are

two sites either of which would be found suitable for tho sub-station—(l) On ' the northern end of the reserve at the corner of Arthur street and upper Rattray street' vested in the Corporation; (2) the High School reserve to the north of the above site, and ■veskxi in the School Board of Governors. Your committee would recommend that one aub-statioi: be established on either of the aDove-mostioiied sites, preferably the former; that a suitable small motor be obtained; that two men be located at the sub-station, such men to bo supplied' from the cenifcvi station and tc be changed every 48 hours; that a building be erected sufficient to accommodate storage of motor and other appliances, also to provide sleeping room for two men and necessary appliances for heating and cooking; that a site of, say, 40ft frontage by eay, 60ft depth bo'secured; that pending the importation of a small motor the sub-station be erected and supplied with a hand reel and appliances; that the City Council first to approached, and asked to grant the ri»ht of the necessary area of land in the reserve referred to.

After consideration and discussion it was resolved that the clauses of the report dealing with a sub-station bo referred back to tho committee, and that tho clause advising- that a suitable small motor be obtained be struck out. There was a conscrums of opinion among members that before making special provision for the high levels they should first see how the big motor, which it had been decided to order, would work in going up inclines. Tho Buildings and Plant. Committee re-

commended, among other matters, that the offer of Merr.yweather and Sons, of January 2, 1803, £1395 for supply of motor per specifications, be accepted by letter nor first 1 mail, also that the London Fire Brigade ; he written to asking if it would _ author-: * ise one of its officers to supervise con- . struction and make a test of' the machino 1 when finished, and if no. officer could bo authorised, then to appoint some competent engineer to supervise and test. Ko May- ! Oatway fire alarm, the commtitcc resolved I that where a false alarm is given firms I havine the installation must (during busi- ■ ness hours of, say, 9 to 6) ring up the brigade nnd intimate a false alarm, end if '• no such message is sent, say, within two minutes, then the brigade will, during these hours, turn out, thtT cost to bo paid by nie proprietor or'tllo firm interested'; at all other'hours the brigade to turn out as usual.—The clause referring to the MayOatway alarm was referred back to tho committee to fix an amount to be paid in .case of non-notification on the occasion of 'false alarm, and other clauses in the report were approved. VALEDICTORf. Mr White said he regretted to learn that tho chairman was leaving Dunedin, and suggested that members of tho board' should in some way arrange to make public their appreciation of his public services on that body. The Chairman, after thanking - Mr White for his kind reference, said ho would be present at the next meeting of tho board, when he would hand in his resignation. He _ regretted that the exigencies of his;' Business; necessitated his removal to Wellington after a residence in '■Dunedin of 24 years. He regretted especially breaking up the assooiatonsfhe had formed here, and particularly regretted severing his connection with the board before matters for fire prevention and suppression, in which he was interested had been accomplished, but he trusted to hear that the Dunedin Fire Board had gono on progressing Until serious loss by fire was almost an impossibility. ■ ' •1 " ••' QMERAL. Mr J. E White was appointed a member of the Building and Plant Committee. ' It was resolved that the chairman and S, tar -v a ct in regard to the purchase of lbUO.'t of canvas hose. maorThilk first meeting. A meeting of the Maori Hill Fire Board was held on Tuesday; present-Messrs 0. Balk iGovcrnment nominee), P. Duncan, S. jV Brown, E. S. Clarke (appointees of the local authority), F. G, Cray, W. I Bolam, and T, Chalmer (representatives of the insurance companies). . ' It was resolved that Mr S. N. Brown be chairman of the board for' the- ensuing year! In a brief address the Chairman said the question had been raised as. to whether the ratepayers of the borough were anxious for the board to be constituted, seeing that they did not know what the actual'cost to them would be. He could affirm with confidence that tho residents and ratepayers of the borough were exceedingly anxious to have fire' protection, and that' their desire to have the board constituted and a brigade established was very earnest indeed. What they wanted as a local body was to have a brigade sufficiently qualified for tho requirements of the borough '-'without going into any elaborate or expensive system. They nierely wanted something that would meet the requirements and protect the property of the burgesses, and to do it on the most economical basis possible. After a. general discussion, it was resolved—"That a committee of the whole board be set up to report on (l)the possible requirements for the oquipment of an efficient firo brigade; (2) particulars of the water supply in the borough of Maori Hill; (3) the probable cost of euuipment of a brigade; (4-) the number of hands in the fire brigade; and (5) particulars as to practices held, means of giving alarms, and, generally as to tho whole position of fire suppression in the borough of Maori Hill as it now, exists," It was resolved that arrangements for carrying out secretarial work pro tern, be made by tho chairman'.

/ MASTERTON. (Pbr United Association.)

MASTERTON, March 5. The inaugural meeting of the Masterton Fire Board was held to-day, Messrs Mallard, Simpson, and Ewcn representing insurance companies doing business in town. Mr 0. Pragncll, Government representative on the board, was elected chairman, and Mr It. Brown, late town clerk, secretary. The 'local mombers wore appointed a committeo to have" a- valuation mado of tho Fire Brigade plant, and to' prepare estimates of expenditure for next year for submission to next meeting! ' ' It was decided to invite applications for the position of superintendent and deputy superintendent at salaries of £50 and £25 per annum respectively. It was only after considerable discussion that a motion was carried allowing representatives of the press to attend the meetings of tho board.