NEW ZEALAND'S FIRE WASTE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12883, 2 October 1912, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND'S FIRE WASTE.

A WORLD'S RECORD. (From our Parliamentary Eeparjer.) WELLIN GTC*N. t his day. Tlie waste of property through fires m Now Zealand last year is estimated by the Inspector of Fire Brigades at £456,489. an increase pf £35^60, compared witli the previoifc year. Inspector Hugo states m liis annual report, presented to Parliament ..yesterdav: '"The total loss* caused ..by fire throughout the Dominion m the last eight years amounts to the great sum of £4."540.116., Taking the population of New Zealand as numbering 1,009,CC0 on 31st December last, the fire, loss /or the year then ei»ding averaged 12s Q_d per capita, against 10s . 2d per head m the United '.states of America, and a little over Is 4d per capita 'in Europe. This must be, as m previous years, very near, if not actyally the world's record loss per head of population, and .= although the attention of the public', ihajs been periodically drawn to the matter, there has been no concerted movement m the direction of an endeavor to reduce this excessive loss." . , One of the proposals to reduce this waste was the more general installation of fire alarms and sprinklers m direcet connection with local fire . brigade stations. Seeing the high state of efficiency these alarms have reached, states the Inspector, it is much to be regretted that more of them are not installed throughout the Dominion, particularly m the wholesale warehouse and department stores. The majority of the brigades showed a steady improvement m discipline, drills, and method of work generally. The inspector calls attention to the fact that a most important matter, and one greatly affecting the efficient fire extinction work of the fire brigades, is that of the standardisation of appliances. During the course .of his inspections of the brigades working, under the jurisdiction of Fire Boards, many times he has had occasion to point out to them defects m the appliances with which they are working He enumerates cases where gear* is not interchangeable, and the faulty design of apparatus prevents the best use being made of water pressure. Referring to over insurance as a possible cause of the large number of fires, the Inspector states that an analysis of the reports sent m from various districts shows that over, or excessive insurance, is much m evidence, and there can be no doubt that it is one of the principal factors as a cause of the heavy fire loss that prevails, inducing as it, does, an addition to, but- entirely oufiside the question of the criminal moral hazard, a general carelessness m respect to. five that would not obtain otherwise.