MASTERTON FIRE BOARD

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10589, 22 March 1912, Page 5

MASTERTON FIRE BOARD

QUARTERLY MEETING. The quarterly meeting of the Masterton Fire Board was held .yesterday afternoon, in ,the Secretary's office, Queen Street. There were present, —Messrs 0. N. C. Pragnell (diairman), R. J. White, J. P. Prentice, J. C. E-wington, and J. M. Coradine. An apology for absence was received ■from Mi- G. R. Smith, of Wellington. i ■Mr R. M. Simpson, wiho is leaving New Zealand for England to-day, notified having tendered his resignation [ to the Insurance Association, with regret at severing his connection.—The members of the Board all expressed ..the hope that the resignation would not he accepted, and' on the. motion of Mr Ewington, seconded by the. chairman, it was unanimously resolved that the Insurance- Association be tusked to agree to leave of,_ absence being given Mr Simpson for the six or seven months he would be away. The balance sheet, as audited and printed, was laid oil the table. A grant of £5 towards the cost of delegates attending the Rotorua Conference was rmade.

■ A report of the local Committee was •adopted, and the recommendation ordered to be carried out.

Superintendent Jenkins' quarterly report was read. It stated that the fire alarms bad been 'as follows-. l<\wr in buildings, one of mbbisli, and 1 false alarm, the most disastrous fire having been that at Mr Ewington's. (The operating room, at the Foresters' iHfall had been lined with asbestos to his satisfaction. One hose reel was damaged on 19th January when- going out ,to an alarm, and on the same day the pole of the steam fire engine had been broken. As mstiucted by the Committee, he had-tested the firebell on Wednesday by connecting a further supply of water from tihe 6in. main in Dixon Sitreet, and the result was >nt)t satisfactory. He thought they ■would oither have +o alter the connection to the bell back to what they were in Church Street, or, if they thought advisable, to have a pelton wheel to replace the present water motor, and he thought that would cost about £lB 15s.

The matter was referred to a subcommittee consisting of Messrs'.. Coradine and Prentice, with power to act.

It was decided to ask Inspector •Hugo for information as to the kind of motor engine most suitable for the requirements of Masterton. The local committee were asked to :go fully into the question' of the present system, of fire-watch, in .public ■buildings during entertainments in the evening -