ANNOUNCEMENTS OF RURAL FIRE COMMITTEES

Taupo Times, Volume II, Issue 90, 9 October 1953, Page 7

ANNOUNCEMENTS OF RURAL FIRE COMMITTEES

1953-54 FIRE SEASON It is notified for general information that the 1953-54 Fire Season under the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1947 for the Kaingaroa, Whakarewarewa, Rotoehu and Whirinaki Rural Fire Districts commences on the 1st October, 1953, and continues until the 30th April, 1954. During the Fire Season no person shall: (a) In any rural fire district during a closed fire season or in any county areas while any order is in force under the last preceding section, set on fire or cause to be set on fire, in the open air any trees or timber (whether standing or not) or any bracken, flax, gorse, brdom, lupin, grass, or other plants whatsoever, or any other combustible material whatsoever, except pursuant to the written permit of a Fire Officer. (b) In any rural fire district between the first day of October in any one year and the thirtieth day of April in the following year~ operate any locomotive engine, traction engine, portable engine, or stationary engine, or any other steam or internal combustion engine whatsoever, which is not provided with safe and efiicient means for preventing the escape of dangerous sparks or fiame from funnel or exhaust and for preventing the escape of live coals or fire from ashpan or fire-box. (c) Throw, leave, or drop any lighted match, pipe-ashes, lighted eigarette, lighted cigar, ashes from gas producer, or other burning or smouldering substance on any land at any time and omits before leaving the spot wholly to extinguish the fire or the burning or smouldering substance. It is also stated: (1) The Director of Forestry may from time to time by notice in writing require that any person who is felling trees for any commercial or industrial purpose or who is producing timber in a sawmill in any area, whether within a rural fire district or not, shall provide, and maintain in effective working order, such apparatus and observe such other require - ments as may be specified by the Director for the purposes of preventing, detecting, controlling, and suppressing fires among standing trees or the debris of the tree-felling op~ erations or the refuse from the sawmilling operations. All persons who wish to carry out burning operations in any Rural Fire District must first obtain a permit to burn from the Fire Officer controlling the Rural Fire District, as under: Kaingaroa Rural Fire District. Fire Officer: M. F. Armitage, Kaingaroa Forest Headquarters Telephone 199S, 260 Rotorua. Whakarewarewa Rural Fire District : Fire Officer: P. W. Maplesden, Whaka Forest, Telephone 674, Rotorua. Rotoehu Rural Fire District. Fire Officer: R. W. Anderson, Rotoehu Forest, via Te Puke, Telephone 1M Ohinepanea, 1K Te Puke after office hours. Whirinaki Rural Fire District. Fire Officer: J. Birt, Te Whaiti, * Telephone 5 Te Whaiti. It is a statutory obligation on any person discovering a fire burning unattended in a State Forest or in a Rural Fire District to do everything reasonable within his power to extinguish the fire, and to

have the outbreak reported to the nearest Fire Officer. Any fires discovered should be reported to any of the Fire Officers mentioned or to : )! Conservator of Forests, Rotorua. Telephones 112, 336, v 1020, Rotorua. Any such calls may be made '■Collect." The New Zeaiand Forest Service as a Fire Authority will co-operate tio the^uShost, consistent with the qonditions prevailing, in granting permits to burn, where essential land- CleaVihg is cohcerned but the prevention of fire and control of outbreaks that do occur depends largely on the co-operation of the general public in preventing fires from starting, and in notifying fires in the incipieiit stages. ^ W,..\ ::v ■.