THE HIGH SCHOOL FIRE.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 June 1926, Page 6

THE HIGH SCHOOL FIRE.

The many friends of the New Plymouth Boys’ High School will have heard with much regret of the serious lire which occurred on Saturday last. By this unfortunate event the organisation and work of the school have been rudely interrupted. Coining as it does in the second term of the year, when the boys are in the middle of the serious work of the year, such an interruption is exceedingly awkward- for both: teachers and pupils. . .The prompt assistance the Jockey Club was able to offer is just the kind of sympathy tl>e school needed at the moment, and it must have afforded the many old boys who are members of the Jockey Club much pleasure to be able to help their old school when it most needed it. The thanks of the community also are due to the club for its very effective help in the quite unforeseen emergency. To the man in the street, the outstanding query in connection with the fjrO is, why, in such a modern building as the boys’ high school, the heating system should not be more up-to-date than that of open fires. This is well-known to be one of the least economical 'ways of heating large buildings, entailing the maximum amount of labour and supervision with the minimum of results. Further, when the new school was erected, for the sake of saving a few pounds, the Education Department insisted upon putting wooden floors into the buildings, ’ thereby adding very considerably to the risk where open fires are used. About two yeans ago a fire was caused in similar manner- as on Saturday, but happening in the day time, was detected before much damage was done. There were other directions in which a similar cheese-paring policy on the part of the department rendered the buildings less satisfactory than they should be, and if out of the trouble the fire has brought upon the staff and the board arises not only the provision of a suitable heating apparatus, but also a thoroughly modern equipment of the renovated buildings, those in immediate charge of them wil> be spared a good deal of quite unnecessary anxiety.