H, 12

2

Circumstances have not permitted inspection of the Kaitangata and Lawrence Fire Districts. During the inspection visits instruction in fire drill and in fire-protection matters generally has been given in the smaller towns ; inspections have been made and reports furnished in respect to public buildings and institutions ; advice has been given to local bodies and others in regard to water-supplies and fire-prevention ; specifications for the supply of plant and appliances have been drawn up ; quite a number of tests have been made and reports furnished in respect to tentative inventions and improvements in fire-prevention equipment; also, public addresses on the subjects of fire waste and fire-prevention matters have been delivered. Special visits and reports have been made, of which the following are the principal:— Napier : May 17, 1928 —Address, Chamber of Commerce. Dunedin : May 28, 1928—Board meeting ; plans of proposed new central fire-station. Wellington : June 5, 1928—Address, Chamber of Commerce. Rotorua : November 25, 1928 —Inspection and report, King George V Hospital. Upper Hutt: March 22, 1929—Inspection and report, picture-theatres. Trentham : March 23, 1929 —Inspection, Trentham Camp. Masterton : April 9, 1929—District fire-brigades demonstration. Auckland : June 19, 1928-—lnspection, sites for new substations, Avondale and Tamalri. Wanganui: September 3, 1928 —Annual meeting. Onehunga : October 6 and 7, 1928 —District Fire Brigades Conference, and meeting executive United Fire Brigades Association. Palmerston North : October 16, 1928 —Annual meeting. Te Aroha : November 21, 1928—District inspection. Hokitika : February 23 to March 3,1929 —United Fire Brigades Conference and demonstration. Following upon an invitation from the executive officers of the United Fire Brigades Association, I attended their annual conference and biannual demonstration held in Hokitika in February last, and delivered an address to the delegates upon fire-prevention matters generally. At the request of the Conference this address is to be printed and distributed to the brigades. There was a great improvement throughout in the methods of carrying out the demonstration ; antiquated events were modernized, and certain of the appliances were replaced by more up-to-date gear. Altogether this demonstration was the most practical and educationally successful that has been held within my experience, and the executive officers of the association are to be highly commended for the firm manner in which they have at last taken this matter in hand. Further, it was pleasing to see the appreciative manner in which the drastic and even exacting alterations made in most of the events were accepted by the brigades taking part in the competitions. Two new Volunteer Fire Police Corps have been formed, and chief officers of brigades continue to report in highly appreciative terms of the valuable services at fires rendered by these purely voluntary organizations, the members of which are all prominent citizens of their respective towns. Following are the principal improvements and additions to equipment in various fire districts : — Auckland : Purchase of new station site, Tamaki district; 40-45 h.p. motor first-aid hose-and" ladder tender ; continuous foam generator set. Christchurch : Continuous foam generator set. Dunedin : Plans prepared for new headquarters station. Invercargill: New 65 h.p. 500-700 g.p.m. pump and first-aid motor, fitted with 65 ft. fire-escape ladder. Pukekohe : Plans prepared for new fire-station. Rotorua : Purchase of new station-site. Tauranga : Installation electric fire-alarm siren. Timaru : Erection of two cottage residences for married firemen. Westport: New 14-28 h.p. motor hose-and-ladder tender. Six new auto-sprinkler, eight auto-detector, and two private manual alarms have been installed during the twelve months. The following fatalities have been reported : — Auckland : April 1, 1928—Rhokler Beuth, brigade chauffeur, severely burned by benzineexplosion and died next day. Dunedin : June 9, 1928 —Two-story eight-roomed dwelling destroyed by fire. Horace Mann, owner, burnt to death, and Helen Mann, elderly spinster, severely burnt and died two days later. Gisborne : March 3, 1929—Motor-shed. The owner died as a result of burns whilst trying to extinguish the fire. Quite a number of casualties of a less serious nature than the above are reported as having occurred to brigadesmen and civilians. The number of fire calls received throughout the forty-nine fire districts for the twelve months ended 31st March, 1929, totalled 3,046 : of that number 1,350 were property fires, 354 chimney fires, 609 bush, grass, and rubbish fires, 637 false alarms, and 96 out-of-district fires. The fire loss (all losses quoted, unless otherwise stated, include loss sustained on both insured and non-insured property) throughout the fire districts for the twelve months amounted to £710,596. The four heaviest district losses occurred in Wellington (£294,070), Auckland (£74,958), Dunedin (£42,775), and Christchurch (£39,166). Incendiarism is returned as the cause of 40 fires, involving a loss of £11,210, and 53 fires occurred in unoccupied buildings, with a loss of £8,683. Following is a list of fires, most of them in connection