CHRISTCHURCH FIRE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23511, 27 May 1938, Page 10

CHRISTCHURCH FIRE

DISTRIBUTION OF BRIGADESMEN FURTHER STATEMENT BY MR CHARTERS WRONG IMPRESSION REMOVED (Per United Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, May 26. Revising his earlier statement concerning the distribution of the staff of the Christchurch Fire Brigade on Monday morning, when fire gutted Macduffs building and the State Theatre, the chairman of the Fire Board (Mr T. M, Charters) said that six men who were sleeping at the Central Station, failed to answer the general alarm. He added that of a staff of 47 men, 19 brigade members and one volunteer from holiday leave attended the fire. In actual fact the number on duty was sufficient, but the question was whether, under the existing award conditions, more men would have been available in the event of the fire spreading towards Armagh street. The actual staff position when the alarm was received, Mr Charters said, was 20 men on holiday, one on sick leave, and eight men standing by at four stations. Nineteen men turned out to Macduffs, plus one volunteer from holiday leave. Of the 19 men on holiday leave, six were sleeping at headquarters and one at Sydenham. “ The point is made that three men who ordinarily were to have taken their day’s leave on the day of the fire, voluntarily placed themselves under the orders of the superintendent,” said Mr Charters. “ That definitely creates a wrong impression. The fact is that these three men were due to go on leave at 8 a.m., but as they were at the fire at that hour, they could be asked naturally to carry on. Regarding Mr Glover’s statement that the men on leave at the station were not, asked to fight the flames, I wouldpoint out that there was no response from these men to the general alarm which was sounded throughout the station. There is no time to run round the station to find out who is there. If there is no response it must be assumed that no men are there. No penalty is provided for not responding. This is clearly indicated by the Auckland superintendent’s statement; otherwise why should there be reference to a ‘ gentlemen’s agreement.’ “Mr Glover stated that only a small number of those offering their services were accepted, and that others were told to ‘ stand by ’ for orders, which never came. As the six men who have since been found to have slept on the station did not respond to the ‘ general alarm,’ it is apparent that they could not have received orders of any kind v “Whether the staff is, or is not, adequate to handle efficiently any potential outbreak in the city will be largely governed by the number of men left on the stations if, and when, further, increased leave allowances are granted. I should like to assure Mr Glover that I bow not even to him in my appreciation of the work of the firefighters of this Dominion. Any other interpretation of my remarks would be grossly unfair and entirely misleading.”

FIRE-FIGHTING METHODS

PUBLIC INQUIRY SOUGHT SPEEDY SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS (Per United Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, May 26. The request for a public inquiry into the fire-fighting methods at Christchurch was strongly supported by the manager of the local branch of Lloyd’s Insurance Company, Mr W. B. Honour, to-day. Mr Honour said the questions regarding the tactics employed by the brigade in combating the fire which caused extensive damage at Macduffs’ building and the State Theatre on Monday morning had been answered by the superintendent, Mr A. Morrison, to the full satisfaction of his company, but the questions did not end there. Although Superintendent Morrison had given satisfactory answers, it was now clear that factors over which he had no control contributed largely to the destruction of the buildings. At this point it was for the public authorities to step in and hold an investigation. The possibility was that some serious structural faults would be shown, and that these were the basic cause of the spread of the fire.

“ In the interest of public safety, the incidence of two serious fires within a few days of each other, and the presence of factors that made the work of the brigade ineffectual to prevent heavy losses, warranted a public inquiry into all aspects of fire fighting in the city,” said Mr Honour. He added that his company was not looking on the question from a commercial standpoint, but thought that a lead should be given to public opinion. Any question of inquiry would have no bearing on the settlement of the claims; these were being dealt with as speedily as possible. Mr Honour added that, while the chairman of the Fire Board, Mr T. M. Charters, appeared to be mainly concerned with combating award conditions that he considered likely to affect the efficiency of the brigade, this was not the main issue, in Mr Honour’s opiniop. He wanted to correct sny impression that might have been' drawn from the remarks he made yesterday that Mr Charters was attempting to avoid discussion of the main issue. What he had wished to imply was that, if the inquiry were confined to the operation of the award, other important questions would not receive attention. In addition to examination of the conditions prescribed in the award, the scope of the investigation should be widened so that it could deal with the strength of the brigade, the condition of the equipment itself, and the question of enrolling and training auxiliary firemen for service in cases of emergency. The inquiry should also be comprehensive enough to deal with the building bylaws, which seem to require revision.