Fire Losses For Year Were Too High

Chronicle (Levin), 3 December 1948, Page 5

Fire Losses For Year Were Too High

WELLINGTON, Dec. 2. The flre loss for 1047-4, S of £902,207 had been exceeded only once in 1040-47, stntes the annual rejiort of the Inspector of Fire Brigades, Mr. It. Girlin,: Butcher, tabled in the Ilouse of ltepre sentatives today. The report says that the insured fire loss for 1940, the latest year for which national figures had been prepared, w-as £704, .">92, an increase of £125,000 ovei 194,">. The national loss was estimate-l in the usual way by adding one-eight'n to insured loss. it was £S9">,941. This ligure, slated JMr. Girling Butcher, conlirmed an indication in he previyus report, that New Zealnnd wa - entering a high fire loss cyele. 'J'lm tnajor part of the 1947-48 lire loss was caused, as usual, by large iires. Losse|Ol over £5000 included Ballantyue g I (Christchurch ) £,"17,01(1, a confectlon lerv manufacturers at Auckland >£108,500, a slore, sho[)s, warehouse and joflice block at Invercargill £43,418 shojis and llats at Pahiatua £25,145, a radio l'actory at Wellington £21,439, en gineers' premiscs at Auckland £37,00o. an eleetrical warehouse at Christchurch £28,505. Others were an Aucklaiui eoiifectionery manufacturers £10,10(1, Christchurch motorbodv builders' factory £11,019, Danrie\irke shops and ortices £17,000, Dunedin picture theatre £5589, Greymouth inunicipal l)uildingi> £19,840, Hamilton shops and offiees £8424, Palmerston North fellmonger* and woolston; £7000, Petone motorbodv builders' factory £5829, Wellington slipper and shoe factory £5000, furnituro factory, £10,100, printing works £9090. In 12 of these 18 major lires, the

cause was unknowu and in tliree cases not established. The report draws attention to the serious increase in fire ealls and lires involving loss of jiroperty. The average for. the. past three years was 7517 jprq' jealls . aqd. 1798 propert.y fires comwith '4he ■ average of the three "V'esA preceding the war of 4064 ealls and 859 property fires. The increase was too large to be aecounted for by the increase of urban population. In addition to 41 lives lost in Ballantyne 's lire, four other persons were burned to death at the Franz Joser Glac.ier llotel in .Tuly, 1947. There were also during the vear 15 isolated cases of death resulting directly from iire. Two of these involved shoek from burns and 13 were caused by fires in dwellings. The fatalities included tvvo infants and in one case particular attention was drawn by the coroner to the danger of leaving young children alone in a buildi»g.