THE FIRE MENACE.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 December 1924, Page 10

THE FIRE MENACE.

SHIPS OUT OF REACH. MEETING OF FIRE BOARD. REPORT ON PAST QUARTER. The quarterly meeting of the New Plymouth Fire Board was held on Thursday night. Present: Messrs. F. E. Wilson (chairman), E. J. Carr, F. J. Hill and Superintendent A. Boon. Apologies for absence were received from Messrs. W. C. Weston and J. Lobb.

Six alarms of fire had been received during the quarter by the brigade, reported the superintendent, and the members of the brigade had been called out four times. The outbreak at Mr. 11. Meadly’s bakehouse was the most serious, the fire having a good hold before the alarm was given. The remaining five calls were: Two to chimneys; one where an electric iron had boon left with the current switched on, setting fire to the table upon which it stood; one to the Firestone Service Motor Garage; and one a false alarm, the perpetrator of which was apprehended by the police and subsequently fined £lO. Mr. Meadly’s was the only fire at which any loss was sustained. The attendance of firemen at practice and at fires had been good, the installation of the house alarm bells proving most satisfactory.

The superintendent also reported regarding salvage sheets, couplings, and smoke helmets, as requested by tho board. It was necessary to secure a new battery for the Ford car, the old one being worn out after eight years of use. It was suggested that a board for the charging of batteries be installed in the fire station, but the electrical engineer advised that this would be too costly. Mr. Huggett further stated that he was prepared to keep tho batteries fully charged. Air. Boon recommended that the offer be accepted. SHIPS INACCESSIBLE-. The superintendent stated that he had examined the wharf with a view to taking the engine over it in the event of an outbreak of fire on any vessel in port, and found it would be impossible to travel any distance on it owing to railway iron standing above the decking of the wharf and other ways, being blocked by timber, plant, etc. While the flood gate across the Huatoki stream in Brougham Street, used to turn water into the sump for pumping purposes, dropped from suspension satisfactorily, it was impossible to raise it by means of man power with its present fixing. This could be amended by cutting through the footpath, thus giving a direct lift.

On the motion of the chairman, it was resolved that all recommendations embodied in the superintendent’s report be sanctioned. In connection with the wharf, the chairman and the superintendent had interviewed the Harbour Board officers, and an endeavour would be made to get something done. The securing of smoke helmets was deferred until the. next meeting, when Mr. Boon would be able to give a full report on the. matter. It was decided to procure the couplings recommended by the superintendent at an estimated cost of £l4O. Regarding the flood gate across the Huatoki, it was resolved to forward a copy of the paragraph to the borough engineer, to see if any assistance would be av/lable from that quarter. WATER FOR OIL STORES.

The inspector of fire brigades (Mr. T. Hugo) stated in a report of his inspection that the motor pump had been worked from the sump in Brougham Street, and it was satisfactory to note that when the machine was at work the exhaust pipes did not heat up as rapidlv as heretofore, also the difficulty and delay in starting the engine appeared to have been remedied. Instruction was given in the recent “four men squad” drill, and some practice therein was carried out. The newly-adopted system of summoning the firemen by means of a bell circuit, was proving very satisfactory, and should result in a better average attendance at fires. The body of the newly-acquired motor hose and ladder tender was well designed and well constructed, and the machine would prove a valuable addition to the brigade equipment.

In regard to the bulk oil stores erected, and in course of erection, a water main not less than Gin. in diameter should be laid down in Buller Street and would then give the brigade a chance of preventing a fire spreading to neighbouring property. Present conditions were grave in that respect.

It was resolved that the Borough Council’s attention be drawn to the paragraph dealing with the laying down of a main in Buller Street, and that the council be asked to attend to the matter as soon as possible.