£12,000 LOAN PLAN

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18757, 13 July 1935, Page 4

£12,000 LOAN PLAN

FIRE BOARD PROPOSALS EXTENSION OF STATION ACCOMMODATION FOR BRIGADE A scheme to raise a loan of £12.000 for the purpose of purchasing land' and erecting additions to the present fire station in Bright street, is to be put before the Local Government Loans Board at an , early date ,by the Gisborne Fire Board. Details of the scheme have been drawn up and approved by the board, and that authority will, on July 29, confirm the resolution to'apply to the Loans Board for its sanction to the borrowing of ihe necessary funds. It is proposed to purchase two properties on the Bright street frontage, and to extend the station premises'ill order to afford accommodation for at least nine brigadesmen, who will sleep and have their meals on the station and will form the nucleus of the active brigade. With the advance of development in Gisborne, increasing difficulty has been found in securing accommodation for the,firemen within reasonable . ppximity to.the station, and the regulation of the board, which places a limit on .the .distance at which a fireman may reside from the centre of the brigade’s'activities, has lately been subject to some straining. The 'essence of.; successful,fire-fighting,..it. is recognised, is to get the men to the scene of the outbreak in the shortest possible time, and only by having a number of men instantly available can the ideal be attained. Hence the necessity for providing additional accommodation at the station, whence a small parly can be dispatched to the scene of an outbreak without delay. On addition to the accommodation for personnel, the Fire Board proposes to equip the station extension in such a way as (o preclude further expenditure m buildings for many years. Provision will bo made for housing another engine, if necessary, and various other details lave received adequate attention. The board has delayed action in regard to these porposals, it is understood, until the loan could be raised without adding to the annual levy collected by the board for fire fighting purposes. Until this year the board has levied from the Borough Council an annual sum to assist in meeting interest and principal oil the loan raised to build the present station accommodation and to equip it with engines and other necessities of the brigade. This loan has been extinguished this year, and the board is now in a. position to face further loan works without increasing the amount of its levy, tlie money formerly set aside to meet interest and principal on the past loan being sufficient, to cover the payments on the new project.