GISBORNE FIRE BOARD.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 15320, 16 September 1920, Page 3

GISBORNE FIRE BOARD.

_«p* The Gisborne Fire Board met yesterday afternoon. Present: Messrs G. Wildish (m the chair), E. Adair, H. V. Forslor, and D. S. Jamison. Tho chairman welcomed Messrs D. S. Jamison and 11. F. Forster as new members. Mr Forster succeeds Mr Moodie, and Mr Jamison succeeds tha late Mr J. Townley. The Poverty Bay ■'Bowling Club wrote asking the Board to remove the firubeil from the Council's reserve which had been leased to the club.— lt was decided to remove the bell if another suitable site could bo secured, and tho matter was left m the ''hands of the chairman and Mr Forster. The Leylaiid Motor Co. forwarded a letter respecting motor fire pumps, and it was decided 'to consider the matter further at a full meeting of the Board. Accounts amounting to £341 8s were passed for payment. The estimated expenditure for the ensuing year amounted to £1486 6s and the actual expenditure last year was £1069 3s 9d. Superintendent Kane, ,m his annual report, stated there had been 29 calls during the year, and only m one case had the property endangered been a complete loss. Both engines were m good order, and there was a good supply of appliances. Six men slept m the station, and the social life was excellent. During the year the water supply was cut otf eight times. The average pressure for the year was 1101 bto tho square inch, which was adequate for fire-fighting purposes. , The committee reported that the tender of . Hallenstein Bros, had been accepted for the supply of new uniforms. The matter of the extension of the. brigade premises was considered. The purchase was recommended of a quarter-acre section and house adjoining the station for £1400. The Minister's consent had been obtained for the purchase. Tho Boardl decided to purchase the property from Mr Griffen, the details being left m the hands of Messrs Wildish and Mirfield. The. secretary (Mr F. dimming) tendered his resignation on account of pressure of business. He thanke-H the Board for its past considerations. — Tlie chairman remarked that Mr Gumming had acted as secretary lo the Board ever since its inception, and ho' regretted that the Board was to lose his services, though he felt sure that the members were pleas- , ed to hear of his success m business. A vote of thanks m recognition of past ser-vices-was carried unanimously, and tho resignation was accepted with regret. Arising out of the superintendent's report, Mr Forster referred to the fact that out of 29 calls m 12 months six had been false alarms. The seriousness of the offence was brought before the public m uo uncertain measure .by the fact that one man had recently been fined £25 for calling out the brigade. Tho Magistrate, he thought, was to be congratulated on imposing a heavy fine, as the practice was a hard one to detect and the percentage of false alarms was a high one. • He moved that the police be complimented upon bringing the* case before the Court. He hoped that it would set an example to people not realising the seriousness pf , calling the brigade out on a hoax.— The chairman endorsed the statement mnde by Mr Forster.— Mr Adair : All the false alarms not wilful.— Mr Forster: The police stated at the recent Court case that three alarms had been given which were believed to have J)p«n wilful.— The chairman: False alarms at times are unavoidable,, but if possible they should bo stopped altogether.— The motion was carried. , * I ' ' Mr Wildish then suggcsled that with the exception of the Board's costs m connection with Iho turn-out, the remainder .of the fine should be divided among tho firemen.— The question of legality of such procedure was raised, and , it was decided to leave the matter v m the hands of the chairman and secretary, with power to act.