FIRE BOARD POLL

Waipa Post, Volume 32, Issue 1927, 28 October 1926, Page 5

FIRE BOARD POLL

TRIE PROPOSAL EXPLAINED. DELEGATION FROM HAMILTON. To give the burgtetees of Te Awamutu some further .information on the subject of the proposed establishment of a Fire 'Board htire, 'a public meeting was held in the Town Hall last Tuesday evening. Messrs J. MicKlinnon and F. ’W. Luxford, and) Superintendent Craig, of .Hamil'Jton, came over to state the case and answeir quelstions. His Worsli'iip. 'the Mayor, Mr L. G. Armstrong, presided. The. abtent.lince was about fifty. Tlhe Mayor said the meeting had been convened at tlhe instance of the Chamber of Commelr'ce, which organisation had 'taken Ithjal Initial steps to secure a poll. 'The 'Council bad also obtained a good 'dela.l of lin'forniation from other local bodies on thei merits and demerits of the sysl'tem. The poll was to be 'taken ion November 3rd, at the same time as the poll on t.he .system Of rating on unimproved l values, and, i't was hoped the ratepayers would display an intelligent iinter'e.st in both proposals. The feilea of a Fire Board in Te Awamutu had 'been (u|nder consideration on several occasions. Now the lopporltunlity was coming for the ratepayers 'to expijelss thei'r views at the poll. The 'BOrough Council and the Chamber of 'Commerce were both in favour of the .establishment of a Board heda Personally he .had givten the subject la good deal of 'thought, and was definitely in favour. Of the Council’s inquilries twenjty-ione favourable replies had 'been ljsiceived; only five were against It. Investigation showed that tlhe codt of fire control would be less under a Board 'than under present conldlitlions. The Mayor went into figures prepared as a guide to Ithe ratepayers.

Mr McKinnon was a /Borough Council! dr in 'Hamilton for several years and is chaiirmian and one of the Cojuincil’s repres'entapives on tills. Fire Boar'd; Mr Luxford wla® also a Borough 'Councillor and had been secretary of 'the Firs 'Board from its inception. 'Supeilintendenlt Craig wa's, as so many people knew, .in charge of th)=i Hamilton 'Fire 'Brigade. He (the Mayor) cordially welcomed the delegation, and .itheiy were greeted with applbuse. He hoped' the ratepayers would carefully consid/sr the position. On the figures he had before him there was very little prospsidt 'of the cost of fire control being greater than under the prfiisc-njt .system. .Mr McKinnon gave some details of experience under a Fire Board. The ratepayers and the insurance companies each find 45 per Cent, of the administration, am!( the Government ithe other 1.0 p'er cent, with a limi't of £SO per annum. His experience wa's that ithe 'chief opposition came from fire hrigadesnien, who were imbued wtl.lh senfiments of old traditions—!the volunteer system was what they liked. .But 'though thb same stamp of men were /in the 'brigade, there was more efficient supervision. Hamilton’s Fire Bo aid was formed in 1913, and it had been a distinct 'success right from Its In'ckption. The personnel of the Board was three nominees of the. (Borough 'Council, /three fr'om the underwriters, and one Government nominee ('who is a resklkmt of the fire district). Mr McKinnon traced the conditions in Hamilton before and a'ftelr the establishment 'of a Fire Board. Te Awamutu is now in a far 'belter position t'o make the change IthVa.ii Hamilton was in in 1913. For Hits! first ten years there was pnly one permanent man in the brigade—t/o- drive the motor reel. Now .the brigade and planjt is up-to-date and efficient. The vital question in coming to a decision is: What is lit going to Co sit the .ratepayers ? Wei. 1 , Hamilton had had to spend money, but it had a ve'ry goo'd brigade. Te Awamutu could get very satisfactory results at far lesls 'cosjt.. For instance, of the estimated expenditure /of £271 in Te Awamutu, it'h'e Government would provide £4l, and the Borough Council and fire underwriters £lls each, .Some people deprecated tlhe necessary expenditure on fire fighltling, but they speedily became converted when some property of their own wta® imperilled by fire. There are now 46 Fire Boards in th'a .'Dominion, and the first came irfto operation iin 1908. That was an indication of the growing support of the 'Fire Board Isystem. Many boroughs ahe/mt the same sizpi as Te Awamutu had adopted it, land he knew of no 'instance of reversion to .the old conditions. 'A ‘Fire Board would take ov'er existing equipment, paying for same in 26 annual instalments. Te Awamutu Borough Iliad spfent £ISOO on ilts station. That Would mean repayment a,f f.he rla.te of £75 /per annum. Tliis (town has practicality no obsolete equipment, and therefore everything would almost certainly be taken oVar by valuation, and paid for by annual Instalments. Mr McKinnon concluded by inviting questions. To M[i' Gifford: ISo far as he could seei, Ithere ■Would b'e ve'ry little expense in bringing .the present brigade equipment rte-to-dalte. It may be desirable later on to install a fire alarm system, but (Hamilton, hadi a Fire Board for Pen years before it inls'talled a duplex tiro alarm system. Th|:-i insurance represenltatlives would net willingly incur much expense. The town’s own representatives may be .trusted to take a similar view. Hamilton’s expenditure last ypar was only £2BOO. A fire brigade under 'the new system would be regularly inspected by the 'Government inspector, Mr Hugo. Hamilton’s expenditure lapt year neleid not frighten Te Awamutu ratepayers, for iit has a population of about 16,000. To Mr Bateson: The Fire Board has no effect ion insurance premiums. It is not tlhe function of a Board (to approach the .underwriter® for a rleduc(ion in rates. ‘Welter pressure is the ess'enltial. 'Hamilton’s fire insurance rate is thigher than that of Te Awa l mutu. Wliat he kne'w of Te Awamutu madh him (think we had a good claim to ask the underwriters to reduce the premium rate to D. Hamilton’s is F. To Mr McCarter: Th'e; constitution of a Board gives the town power or protection agaiinst lavish expenditure. Ther|?; is also provision for the ratepayers to dissolve the Fire Board and revet! to File ol'd condition of things. At (this stage Ithe Mayor welcomed

any criticism or statement against Fire Board control, in the hope that the ratepayers would have _ full guidance in making fa. wtse decision alt next week’s poll. To Mr Preston, Captain Haselden said the local hrigadesmen have an open mind on the subject of Fire Board control. To Mr Downes: Mr McKinnon said in Hire hirst year of Hamlillton’s Fire Board there whs very' little expenditure —not mode than £3OO. The present outlay included £7OO in salaries, 'linen there were £3OOO and £2OOO for buildings, nela.rly £2BOO. on fire’ engines and £llOO on 'dMplex fire alarms. And yet Hamilton had not got a good wator pres’SU'Hwu Tg Ajwciinultii Wcib in cin immeasurably botltdr position. Reniember that Hamilton has a very mu'ch greater population and a far larger area. To Mr Jeffetry: Hamilton has a super! nliendent on annual salary, two mien on weekly wages, and the other firemen are paid so much per hour for attendance tait fifie’a There t s no direct chargia made ito any resident for fire protection. A person unfortunate enough to havei his premises burned is noit charged fcir the attendance o.f firemen. To Mr McCarter: Tihe most .pronounced factor lin getting a lower insurance premium raJte would .probably be. 1 the installation of a fire alarm system at a cost of about £3OO. Xntereislt and smiling ifund on that suni would he a very am all item. Hamilton people were very sore wilth the 'underwriters that th);y couldi not get reduction of ,premiums, but the underwriters maintained that Ithe water pressure was inadequate to warrant a reduction in rates. Te Awamutu has a splendid gravitation waiter .supplyfar superior to that of Hamilton. T>3 Awamutu has a very clear case for representations! for a reduction to D schedule.

To Mr 'Gifford: The underwriters enly require facilities for quick transport to a fire. But he wa s conffidkn't Inspector Hugo would recommend installation of 'the duplex fibe alarm system. Howelver, as in the case of 'Levin, the cost would be between £3OO and £4OO. , The Mayor said the Council bad so improved its 'station and equipment as to warrant a ideduction in premium rate, but 'the underwriters had not fulfilled the promises of its responsible officers. The business people could continue to press for fulfilment of the promises made two years ago. To Mr Gifford, Mr IMcKinnon said a Fi're Board increases tbtei efficiency of a fire brigade by paying closer interest than was usually done by Borough Councillors, who had so many other matters 'to attend to.

To Mr Preston: The underwriters would bear the'ir 45 pier cent, of the cost of installing a duplex 'fire alarm system.

To Mr Gifford, who bad said the local brigade had been very successful in quelling outbreaks of fire, Mr McKinnon said the best argument for a Fire Board was that thosfo peoplei benefiiting would bear a share of the cost. An efficient brigade saved the underwriters from having to pay out insurance claims Sorely they should pay a share of the brigade's upkeep? To Mr MCCabter, the 'Mayor said 'the cost of the brigade, this year was £260. The estimate for next ye'a.r was £416. Of this the Government would pay £4l. Thu s th)a underwriters would pay £lB7 10s and the Borough 'Council a like amount.

To Mr Em,pson: By esta’t'liphing a Fire Board it would not lessen 'the chance of getting lower premiums. The underwriters are notoriously hard. To Mr Spinley, Mr McKinnon said there may Its little chance of getting a lower premihm rate, under 13. Eire Board, buit it would not he raised, and further, the underwriters would have «o contribute ito the upkeep of the. brigade, [thus reducing .the cost to the Borough Council, which represented t'he ratepayers. To Mr Downes: The brigade under the Fire Board would he more efficiently controlled. The inspector must make at least one inspection annually. His report is published. To Mr Jtaffc.ry: Inspector Hugo has no power to compel a town to provide certain improvements, hut he was known to ,'be in favour of the duplex fire alarm system, hence the suggestion that he woludd favour tits installation heivo

Mr McCarter said it was evident that (he cost would be no greater to tbe ratepayers while there was a probability of lower cost. Improved efficiency would (cin'able property owners to lower their insurance covers.

.Mr McKinnon gave an instance of this coursP actually being followed in Hamilton. This was almPst entirety due to the greater efficiency nowadays of Ibhfe Hamilton 'fire .brigade. The Mayor said lie would like ,r o make it cl tar that the present movement Was by no means a reflection on the present brigade. Those mien had done wonderful work. It was a wonder to him .that they had continued their arduous obligation, arid he hoped thalt they would stick together under the rijetw arrangement proposed. To Mr Metcalfe, Mr McKinnon eaid the 'difference in cost of instating a duplex alarm system was the street mileage. (Hamilton has between 50 and 60 missis of streets, whereas Te Awamutu has only about 15 miles. Waikato Hospital is outside Hamilton’s fire district, hut several other, large buildings have the duplex system installed therein, besides the street call styisfeims. To Mr Morris: The duplex system would not necessitate a residential fireman at the stallion day and night. It was primarily intended for night alarms. Mr R. A. Coyne moved a hearty vote of .thanks' to Mr McKinnon for his informative .addness and ftp his friends, for accompanying mini. The vote of It.hanks was carried by acclamation. r

The usual compliment to the;- chair terminated the 'meeting.