FIRE CONTROL

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21229, 27 September 1940, Page 9

FIRE CONTROL

HAMILTON BOARD MEETS EAST HALF-YEAR REVIEWED ABSENCE OF FALSE ALARMS At the half-yearly meeting of the Hamilton Fire Board yesterday it was decided to increase the wages of the board’s officers by 5 per cent, to bring them in line with those of other employees who had benefited as a result of the Arbitration Court’s cost of living bonus. The chairman of the board, Mr W. Bourne, said that the Court’s pronouncement affected only men covered by awards, but did not cover the officers in the service of the board. It was decided to make the payment retrospective. Mr Bourne presided over the meeting and also present were Messrs R. McCaw, W. Tanner, A. E. Moore, G. C. Henderson, F. W. Luxford (secretary), and A. Craig (brigade superintendent). A letter was received from the Waipa County Council requesting that fire alarm boxes be installed in the Melville and Nawton Road areas. This, it was stated, would give additional protection for property. The secretary said the council had approached him to soe if the board would meet the council with regard to the cost involved. After discussion it was decided to advise the council that the board was not prepared to meet any of the cost of installing the boxes, which would be outside the Hamilton area. No False Alarms Reporting on the operations of the brigade during the last six months, the superintendent said that 35 calls were received, 16 being to property fires. One fire on August 31 caused a loss of approximately £IOOO, but it was suppressed before any more serious damage was done. A pleasing feature of the period under review was that there were no false alarms. An auxiliary volunteer corps had been formed and was attached to the brigade, said the superintendent. Already 20 members had joined and there were 20 scouts attached to the movement, the duties of which would be to assist the brigade in the event of an emergency.

The superintendent’s report was adopted.