THE WAIPA POST Printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. TUESDAY, 9th OCTOBER, 1928. DISTRICT FIRE RISKS.

Waipa Post, Volume 37, Issue 2219, 9 October 1928, Page 4

THE WAIPA POST Printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. TUESDAY, 9th OCTOBER, 1928. DISTRICT FIRE RISKS.

IT may not be generally known that that portion of Waipa County which seceded from Te Awaniutu Borough three years ago' is in a very unfavourable position as regards fire protection, but it is a fact, as, was made clear at the last meeting of the Te Awamutu Fire Board. The pioint cropped up in some references to the loss sustained by the Hamilton Fire Board when it despatched, in response to an urgent call, its fire-fighting apparatus and staff to the hydroelectric works at Horaihora on the occasion of the recent 1 fire there. It was found that the damage suffered by the plant while outside the Fire Board’s area', could not be compensated for by a claim on the ownelrs of the property the brigade tried to save, the Public Works Department. The same obstacle occurs in connection with what is generally termed the Ohaupo Road area, which, though now outside the borough, is only a few hundred yards away from the Te Awamutu Post Office. The area, when it was administered as part of the borough, was 'reticulated with water mains, and it has, its fair share of fire plugs, yet now (through the secession, and the fact that the borough boundaries are also the limits of the Fire Board’s jurisdiction) it is without protection from fire. It would seem that the inhabitants of the area have been blissfully unaware of their unenviable position, and if they are to obtain the presumably desired protection they will have to induce the Waipa County Council to com<e to an arrangement with the Te Awamutu Fire Board, entailing, we suppose, a contribution towards the Board’s funds. By doing so, the fire brigade would have, as t

part of its duties, to respond to fire calls in the Ohaupo Road area, but we can find no indication that the insurance rates for property in that area will be lowered t'o the level of those lat present enjoyed by owners of property actually within the borough. But one likes to be in a position to expect the services of the fire brigade, an efficient and fairly wellequipped body, in case of fire. The brigade's splendid record of fire prevention in recent years —the outbreaks of fire can, of course, not be entirely but the likelihood of outbreaks is minimised, while the high pressure and amlple supply of water enables the brigade to quench an outbreak in its early stages and thereby save much valuable property. We commend to the Ohaupo Road residents the desirability of some such arrangement with the Te Awamutu Fire Board. If the Rangiaohia Riding is not to be saddled with the cost of the monetary contribution necessary, maybe the area itself—which is, we believe, a special rating area for roading purposes—could bear the imposing of a small rate to cover the contribution. Propertyowners concerned should, in their own interests, move promptly in the matter, for, in the words of a wellkncwn advertisement, “delays are dangerous.”