FIRE BRIGADES OF THE DOMINION (REPORT ON THE) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 1939, BY THE INSPECTOR OF FIRE BRIGADES.

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1939 Session I, H-12

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1939. NEW ZEALAND.

FIRE BRIGADES OF THE DOMINION (REPORT ON THE) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 1939, BY THE INSPECTOR OF FIRE BRIGADES.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

The Inspector of Fire Brigades to the Hon. the Minister of Internal Affairs. Office of the Inspector of Fire Brigades, Wellington, 11th September, 1939. Sir, — I have the honour to submit the thirty-first annual report for the year ended 31st March, 1939, on the working of the Fire Brigades Act, 1926. Fire Districts. No new fire districts were created during the year, and the number in operation at the end of the year was fifty-five. Dominion Fire Waste. The loss by fire in New Zealand during 1938, estimated on the same basis as in previous years—i.e., the amount paid out by insurance companies plus 12J per cent, estimated uninsured loss —was £670,675, being an increase of £14-9,781 on the figures for the previous year. This increase is almost entirely accounted for by the large number and exceptional severity of serious fires occuring in fire districts shown in detail below. It would appear that the Dominion is experiencing a cycle of high-loss fires, since it will be noted that the sequence of these fires extends into 1939, the actual losses being £156,488 for the last nine months of 1938 and £145,662 for the first three months of 1939. For the purposes of comparative record the following table shows the fire losses in New Zealand, Great Britain, Canada, and the United States of America. An additional column has also been included to show the corresponding losses in fire districts which are recorded over a different annual period.

In view of the unusual number of large fires, no special significance can be attached to the increase in the fire loss for 1938. It is probable that, excluding this factor, the increase in the loss is proportionately less than the increase in replacement values of both buildings and contents. On the other hand, the unusually high loss in urban districts due to large fires, and the circumstances attending these fires, makes it desirable to call public attention firstly to the very unsatisfactory fire-exposure conditions existing in most blocks in the high-fire-risk areas in the cities, and secondly to the desirability of protecting high-value buildings by sprinkler or automatic alarm systems.

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Fire Loss in New Zealand. Fire Loss per Head. "Cot' New ZeaIand - Great Britaln - Canada - V ot America 69 1938-39. ye r U,i ° - £ £ s. d. a. d. s. d. s. d. Average(1927-31) .. 508,406 1,332,032 18 1 5 0 17 5 16 0 1932 .. .. .. 201,736 867,714 11 5 3 9 16 8 13 2 1933 .. .. .. 245,195 644,781 8 4 4 7 12 11 8 10 1934 .. .. .. 173,172 566,112 73 41 10 0 87 1935 .. .. .. 181,296 607,410 7 9 4 0 8 9 8 1 1936 .. .. .. 199,592 524,029 68 45 80 85 1937 .. .. .. 170,167 520,894 66 49 84 81 1938 .. .. .. 441,489 670,675 83 43 93 83

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Fire Loss in Fire Districts. It will be seen from tables II and IV attached that the loss in fire districts during the year ending 31st March, 1939, was £441,489 and in areas protected by Fire Boards £9,453, as compared with £170,167 and £24,011 respectively for the previous year. As indicated above, this increase is accounted for by the exceptional number and severity of major fires in the cities. Details of fires in fire districts with loss exceeding £5,000 are as follows

Fires with Loss exceeding £5,000, Year ending 31st March, 1939.

Loss of Life in Fires. It is to bo regretted that during the year under review an unusually large number of fatalities again occurred at or in connection with fires, there being twenty-one deaths, as compared with twentytwo last year. Of these deaths, ten were caused through persons being trapped in burning buildings and five were due to the victims' clothes catching fire. In three of the latter cases the ignition was caused by ordinary electric radiators. Of the remainder, one death was due to the use of petrol for dry-cleaning, one to the explosion of a petrol lamp, one to a child lighting a fire with kerosene, and one to a person being trapped in a scrub fire. Another death was caused by the ignition of clothing impregnated with potassium chlorate ; and in one case a fireman was electrocuted while engaged in operations at a fire. Fire-brigade Administration. The proposals for fire-brigade administration set out in my last annual report were adopted by the Government as a basis for discussion with the local authorities and other interests concerned. During the year under review a number of conferences have taken place with representatives of the Fire Underwriters' Association, the Municipal Association, and the United Fire Brigades' Association. As a result of these conferences the general principle involved has been approved, subject to certain modifications which were adopted as a result of representations made by interested parties. It had been intended to prepare legislation for submission to Parliament during the current session, but owing to the existing war emergency this will have to be deferred. Causes of Fire. The causes of fire in fire districts are set out in Table I attached. No unusual information is disclosed by the figures for the current year, and, as in previous years, the great bulk of fire loss is due to fires which are returned as of " unknown " origin. It has been explained in previous reports that this is due to the fact that serious fires in most cases destroy all evidence of the cause of the fire. It will be noted, for instance, that in the table of serious fires given in this report in all but one instance the cause is not known, and even in this case the immediate cause, whether a match or cigarette, was not actually determined, but as persons were in the building at the time of the fire it was quite evident that the fire was due to the ignition of packing-material either by a match or cigarette-butt. There is little reason to doubt that practically all of these serious fires are due to one or other of the causes enumerated in Table I. Inspection. The inspection work was considerably reduced owing to my prolonged absence due to ill-health. Only about one-third of the brigades were inspected during the year, but close touch was kept with the activities of all districts through newspaper-cuttings, and, where necessary, several visits were made to individual fire districts. The conditions found were in every case satisfactory; and it is pleasing to report that the investigations made showed that in no case were the high-loss fires referred to previously in this report due to any default by the brigade. As a matter of fact, in most instances one could have nothing but the highest praise for the effectiveness of the work carried out under difficult conditions. A number of reports were made during the year with regard to the fire protection of Government buildings and to the Local Government Loans Board on loan proposals for fire protection, water-supply and water-reticulation services. Attached are statistical tables covering both the year under review and also averages taken over a period of years. I have, &c., R, Girling-Butcher, Inspector of Fire Brigades,

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Locality. Day and Date. Time. SftaS Cause of Fire. Loss. £ Auckland .. .. Sunday (15/5/38) .. 10.26 p.m. Motor-bodybuilders Unknown .. 30,898 Auckland .. .. Friday (8/7/38) .. 8.40 p.m. Joinery-factory .. Unknown .. 20,885 Auckland.. .. Thursday (2/3/39) .. 1.50 a.m. Theatre and shops .. Unknown .. 5,300 Auckland.. .. Sunday (5/3/39) .. 7.33 p.m. Timber-mill .. Unknown .. 8,929 Dunedin .. .. Friday (28/10/38) .. 2.32 a.m. Confectionery-factory Unknown .. 12,296 Christchurch .. Saturday (14/5/38) .. 9.11p.m. Shop and factory .. Unknown .. 14,030 Christchurch .. Monday (23/5/38) .. 2.47 a.m. Departmental store .. Unknown .. 47,283 New Plymouth .. Thursday (7/7/38) .. 7.10 p.m. Departmental store .. Unknown .. 11,304 Wellington .. Wednesday (22/6/38) 7.20 p.m. Hosiery-mills .. Unknown .. 10,600 Wellington .. Thursday (10/11/38) 12.30 a.m. Confectionery-factory Unknown .. 9,192 Wellington .. Thursday (2/2/39) .. 2.44a.m. Government offices Unknown .. 46,468 (wooden building in course of erection) Wellington .. Tuesday (28/3/39) .. 6.59 p.m. General warehouse, Light thrown into 77,826 offices, &c. packing-material in lift-well Palmerston North*.. Friday (17/2/39) .. 9.24 p.m. Aero-club "hangar" Unknown .. 7,139 and club-rooms _ £302,150 * Outside Are district, but within area protected by the Fire Board.

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Table I.— Causes of Fire.

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Cities over 20,000 Population: All Fire Districts : Eight-year Average, 1/4/31-31/3/39. Year ended 31st March, 1939. Dwellings. Business Premises. Total. Dwellings. Business Premises. Total. Number ! Number Number Number Number Number of Fire Loss. of Fire Loss. of Fire Loss. of Fire Loss. of Fire Loss. of Fire Loss. Fires. Fires. Fires. Fires. Fires. Fires. j ; ; I ££££££ Defective electrical installations .. .. .. .. 1*2 58 2*2 300 3*5 358 2 114 8 2,039 10 2,153 Electric irons and radiators left on .. .. .. 17*4 3,095 7*1 2,579 24-5 5,674 31 6,394 10 5,025 41 11,419 Short circuits and overheating .. .. .. .. 7*6 589 16*7 1,774 24-4 2,363 19 2,723 28 1,172 47 3,895 Other electrical faults .. .. .. .. .. 1*9 167 4-4 336 6-2 504 .. .. 2 3 2 3 Gas explosions .. .. .. .. .. 0-9 54 0-4 2 1-2 55 .. .. .. .. Gas-rings, &c., left on or in contact with curtains, &c. .. 6-7 552 4-4 266 11-1 818 9 138 7 34 16 172 Defective gas installations .. .. .. .. 3-1 101 0-9 93 4*0 194 3 19 1 70 4 89 Candles in contact with curtains, &c. .. .. .. 5-5 479 0-5 2 6-0 480 3 11 2 11 5 22 Lamps, stoves —overturned or exploded .. .. .. 2*1 78 1*1 28 3-2 106 1 17 1 33 2 50 Miscellaneous, due to naked lights .. .. .. 5*1 779 4-2 550 9-4 1,329 13 2,090 14 3,921 27 6,011 Defective chimneys and flues .. .. .. .. 18-5 1,521 5*1 233 23*6 1,754 30 3,234 12 325 42 3,559 Defective hearths, fireplaces, and furnaces .. .. 19-4 786 3-0 282 22-4 1,068 25 281 6 237 31 518 Defective hot-water svsterns .. .. .. .. 1*5 254 0-6 69 2-1 324 Lighted match dropped .. .. .. .. 14-9 2,263 8-9 3,675 23-7 5,938 9 568 4 228 13 796 Children playing with matches .. .. .. .. 9-2 261 2*5 112 11*7 373 15 651 3 5 18 656 Smoking in bed .. .. .. .. .. 4-7 173 .. .. 4*7 173 10 212 .. .. 10 212 Cigarette or cigar butts dropped .. .. .. 11*9 1,143 11*7 3,430 23*6 4,573 21 1,880 19 1,368 40 3,248 Ashes from pipes, sparks from cigarettes .. .. .. 2-4 282 0*6 46 3*0 327 2 5 1 1 3 6 Rats chewing matches .. .. .. .. .. 0*7 11 0-6 138 1*4 149 2 17 1 10 3 27 Miscellaneous causes: Smoking and matches .. .. 4-5 312 2*2 8,778 6-7 9,090 5 398 4 63,910 9 64,308 Sparks from fireplaces, furnaces, &c. .. .. .. 36-4 3,448 12-5 1,031 48-9 4,479 70 8,172 27 963 97 9,135 Airing clothes before a fire .. .. .. .. 4-2 851 1*9 144 6-1 995 9 553 1 116 10 669 Ashes placed in wooden boxes, &c. .. .. .. 10*1 419 4-1 156 14*2 575 16 724 6 354 22 1,078 Heating tar, polishes, &c. .. .. .. .. 6-7 291 9*1 1,764 15*9 2,055 14 701 8 534 22 1,235 Spontaneous combustion .. .. .. .. 2*2 387 5-5 3,321 7-7 3,708 4 755 4 200 8 955 Allowing benzine. &c., near naked lights .. .. .. 6*1 304 4*7 563 10*9 867 5 125 / l,ol5 12 1,640 Arson .. .. .. .. .. 3*4 395 1*7 562 5*1 957 3 400 3 38 6 438 Suspicious origin .. .. .. .. .. 8*2 2,640 5*1 6,440 13*4 9,080 8 1,208 3 170 11 1,378 Overheating of and sparks from machinery .. .. • • • • 5*6 1,255 5*6 1,255 .. .. 8 650 8 650 Soarks from bush and gorse fires .. .. .. 3*4 114 0-9 28 4*2 142 2 / .. .. 2 / Sparks from rubbish fires .. .. .. .. 7*9 307 i-5 246 12*4 553 22 663 21 2,551 Sparks from chimneys, locomotives, &c. .. .. .. 9*4 226 8*7 915 18-1 1,141 15 632 12 855 27 1,487 Blow-lamps used for burning off paint .. .. .. 15*6 695 1-4 23 17*0 718 20 1,666 2 24 22 1,690 Fires spread from other buildings .. .. .. 11*7 2,909 6*6 2,126 18*4 5,035 43 11,432 31 16,62/ 74 28,059 Miscellaneous known causes .. .. .. .. 13*4 629 18*4 2,231 31*7 2,861 22 1,072 23 45 5,7o3 Unknown causes .. .. .. .. . • 72*2 22,938 59*5 83,340 131*7 106,278 134 45,732 109 241,908 243 287,640 Total .. .. .. .. •• 350*1 49,511 227*3 126,838 577*7 176,349 587 92,594 388 348,895 975 441,489 Loss per fire Known causes .. .. .. • • • • • • 96 .. 259 .. 157 .. 103 .. 384 .. 210 Unknown causes .. .. .. .. •• •• 317 .. 1,401 .. 807 .. 341 .. 'J? *' ' ? All causes .. .. .. .. .• . • •• 141 .. 557 .. 305 .. 158 .. 899 .. 453

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Table II.—Miscellaneous Statistics for Fire Districts.

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Insurance Number inv™- Insurances Insured Uninsured Expend'^.. District Popula- Kateable Companies of ing Loss t> . 5 Si ' ' Total Fire for Year District. Hon Ca p ital Value . Prel U m Fire i Property Buildings Buddings Income. Calls. Pro- | i nv ®, 1 1 ved „ a ? d . „ a ? d 4 ' S t in Fires. Contents. Contents. P er V- | 1940. £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Auckland Metro- 181,800 67,946,317 201,925 1,114 232 3,090,968 80,149 21,238 101,387 42 000 politan Balelutha .. 1,730 322,547 1,683 9 1 .. .. 30 30 434 Birkenhead .. 3,470 779,131 3,639 13 3 1,250 825 207 1 032 590 Cambridge .. 2,330 652,320 3,070 5 2 6,450 27 .. '27 390 Christchurch .. 94,300 27,790,977 96,704 431 101 540,034 76,018 1,526 77,544 20 600 Dannevirke .. 4,470 1,411,665 5,446 9 2 2,025 1,925 5 1 930 '602 Dargaville .. 2,290 516,632 2,899 12 7 7,175 1,193 265 l'458 615 Duncdin .. 77,780 20,830,895 78,394 598 96 242,585 17,375 674 18,049 20 350 Eltham .. .. 1,910 376,895 1,853 4 1 450 25 25 '630 Feilding.. .. 4,740 1,477,609 4,916 14 3 6,670 811 .. 811 760 Foxton .. .. 1,580 247,336 1,324 8 5 5,385 1,084 342 1,426 420 Gisborno .. 13,950 4,043,037 19,257 26 12 24,987 3,823 700 4*523 2 599 Greymouth .. 8,490 1,463,010 7,963 18 5 4,200 164 .. 'l64 1*310 Hamilton .. 17,850 5,486,242 17,541 101 23 22,925 3,199 113 3,312 5'700 Hastings .. 13,550 3,825,516 15,143 43 19 52,570 969 115 1,084 2'575 Hawera .. 4,790 1,388,362 6,580 34 6 8,100 1,139 67 1,206 2*019 Hikurangi .. 1,020 123,100 824 6 .. .. .. ' '208 Hokitika .. 2,770 409,162 3,422 2 2 400 250 20 270 647 Invercargill .. 22,600 5,930,858 23,672 111 37 46,242 4,898 797 5,695 6 810 Kaiapoi .. 1,630 302,590 1,935 6 1 2,000 2,000 700 2,700 '530 Kaitangata .. 1,330 102,192 * * * * * * * 201 Lawrence .. 660 57,830 590 .. .. .. .. .. ,. 100 Levin .. .. 2,770 764,209 3,241 7 1 100 10 .. 10 683 Masterton .. 9,500 2,670,104 11,082 80 16 47,890 2,610 133 2 743 3 891 Milton .. .. 1,390 241,638 2,024 5 3 2,825 1,145 617 K762 '210 Morrinsvillo .. 2,000 506,998 2,602 9 1 380 50 50 516 Napier .. .. 15,950 4,384,138 22,956 54 14 17,805 1,390 132 1,522 5 190 Nelson .. .. 11,550 3,143,142 15,065 57 15 46,960 5,447 1,530 6 977 2*760 New Plymouth .. 17,400 5,005,821 15,874 53 10 23,435 13,303 628 3*638 Oamaru .. 7,610 1,567,738 7,165 8 3 975 846 200 1 046 '975 Ohakune .. 1,390 100,641 901 10 3 940 2 25 27 350 Opotiki.. .. 1,510 363,111 1,825 4 .. .. Otaki .. .. 1,820 305,170 1,503 4 2 6,000 2 20 22 471 Pahiatua .. 1,760 399,526 3,124 1 1 725 6 6 541 Palmorston North 23,400 6,715,596 26,919 147 26 123,746 3,967 1,036 5 003 9 200 Petone .. .. 11,150 3,144,670 12,999 37 6 2,600 945 70 l'oi5 2'335 Port Chalmers .. 2,080 304,411 1,683 2 1 1,500 10 ' 10 223 Pukekohe .. 2,690 855,524 2,709 10 3 2,125 290 10 300 790 Rotorua .. 6,610 1,504,212 7,289 41 11 6,105 649 336 985 1253 Taihape .. 2,210 415,788 3,229 7 4 9,590 389 10 399 's27 Taumarunui .. 2,770 597,167 2,735 10 1 750 5 5 541 Tauranga .. 3,860 1,068,337 4,655 23 21 8,325 200 .. 200 691 TeAroha .. 2,470 778,845 4,141 8 3 1,090 860 1 861 422 TeAwamutu .. 2,560 787,733 3,359 10 2 .. 108 108 567 Timaru.. .. 17,850 5,023,339 15,673 53 7 45,115 2,071 12 2,083 4 034 Waihi .. .. 4,010 309,615 2,578 28 6 5,655 4,677 .. 4,677 '690 Waipukurau .. 2,120 477,711 2,549 14 5 1,710 511 83 594 450 Wairoa .. .. 2,600 570,657 3,476 9 4 9,840 3,019 113 3,132 656 Waitara .. 2,040 334,522 2,215 2 1 .. .. 2 2 303 Wanganui .. 23,500 6,062,279 26,669 147 29 27,330 6,179 1,041 7,220 8 561 Wellington .. 119,700 45,077,480 161,953 947 137 1,881,132 124,464 38,391 162,855 42*400 Westport .. 4,310 573,730 4,381 13 6 1,845 1,213 12 1 225 '700 Whakatane .. 1,920 459,197 2,594 18 .. .. .. .. 550 Whangarei .. 7,550 2,437,713 8,534 17 5 2,650 46 .. 46 892 Woodville .. 1,060 175,317 1,177 1 .. .. .. .. 342 786,150 242,610,302 887,659 4,400 905 6,343,559 370,288 71,201 441,489 205,811 * Figures not available.

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Table IIIa.—Average Statistics for all Fire Districts which have been in Operation for the Sixteen Years 1924-39.

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TW TTnaH Fires P er Highest Fire . Expendi- ... Municipal Rates per Insurance Tneiirnnpa Number of 1,000 of Loss in any Fire x oss Fire Loss Loss per Fire Brigade per District. Distnct. Population. Rates. Head. Premiums. Fires. | Popula- Individual * per Head. Fire. Expenditure. Head. Premiums. tion. Year. £ £ s. d. £ £ s. d. £ £ £ s. d. £ £ s. d. Auckland Metropolitan* 136,515 680,801 4 19 9 181,921 1 6 8 194 1-42 114,709 63,755 0 9 4 329 26 >060 ? Auckland Mtrpn* Balclutha .. .. 1,588 3,781 2 7 7 1,982 1 5 0 2 1-34 7,090 777 0 9 9 365 325 4 1 Balclutha Christchurch .. .. 89,096 235,832 2 12 11 109,936 1 4 8 127 1-42 95,575 35,96o 0 8 1 283 13,4o/ 3 0 Christchurch. Dannevirke .. .. 4,412 11,520 2 12 2 7,264 1 12 11 3 0-68 8,680 1,093 0 5 0 367 702 3 2 Dannevirke. Dargaville .. .. 2,086 12,433 5 19 2 3,492 1 13 6 5 2-33 5,993 2,309 1 2 1 474 560 5 4 Dargaville. Dunedin Metropolitan .. 70,103 201,774 2 17 7 80,073 1 2 10 104 1-49 59,793 17,590 0 5 0 169 14,7o3 4 2 Dunedin Mtrpm. Feilding . .. 4,512 16,333 3 12 5 6,422 1 8 5 5 1 19 5,044 1,586 0 7 0 277 /20 3 2 Feilding. Foxton . . 1,711 4.895 2 17 2 1,760 1 0 7 4 2-26 6,830 2,507 1 9 3 648 4o0 5 3 Foxton. Gisborne .. 13,861 62.734 4 10 6 22,559 1 12 7 21 1-48 24,240 10,358 0 14 11 505 2,470 3 7 Gisborne Greymouth .. .. 6,597 18,431 2 15 11 7,542 1 2 10 9 1-30 32,174 7,571 1 3 0 881 1,027 3 1 Greymouth. Hamilton .. .. 15,678 59,898 3 16 5 20,298 1 5 11 19 1-24 25,746 4,3o6 0 5 7 223 3,009 3 10 Hamdton. Hastings . . 11,721 37,114 3 3 4 15,907 1 7 1 18 1-50 24,504 6,507 0 11 1 371 1.889 3 3 Hastings. Hawera .. .. 4,689 15,973 3 10 1 7,629 1 12 6 8 1-67 11,876 1,683 0 7 2 215 1,278 5 6 Hawera.. Hokitika .. .. 2,552 4,083 1 12 0 2,965 1 3 3 5 1-77 8,591 2,175 0 17 0 481 593 4 8 Hokitika Invercargill .. .. 19,997 73,344 3 13 4 23,443 1 3 5 36 1-78 47,221 12,968 0 13 0 363 5,304 5 4 Invercargill. Kaiapoi .. .. 1,697 2,339 1 7 7 2,331 1 7 6 4 2 13 25,984 3,295 1 18 10 910 634 7 6 Kaiapoi. Kaitangata .. .. 1,451 1,721 1 3 9 t t t t 4,343 t t t 1 2 , 2 Kaitangata. Lawrence .. .. 663 1,314 1 19 8 701 1 1 1 1 1-69 3,770 368 0 11 1 329 93 2 10 Lawrence. Levin .. .. 2,617 6,554 2 10 1 3,708 1 8 4 4 1-72 9,745 1,823 0 13 11 40o 609 4 8 Jfvm Masterton .. .. 8,729 27,976 3 4 1 12,461 1 8 7 13 1-52 18,539 5,672 0 13 0 426 2,247 o 2 Masterton. Milton .. .. 1.502 2 14 11 2,168 1 8 10 2 1-08 1,762 253 0 3 4 156 187 2 6 Milton. Napier .. .. 15.863 59,253 3 14 8 113 4J 20|| 1-24 32,161 10,048|| 0 12 8 511 4,113 5 2 Napier. New Plymouth .. 15,675 58,150 3 14 2 18,362 1 3 5 15 0-98 9,593 5,277 0 6 9 344 2,111 2 8 New Plymouth. Oamaru 7,460 26,845 3 12 0 7,867 111 6 0-86 23,878 3,898 0 10 6 606 1,097 2 11 Oamaru. Ohakune .. .. 1,460 2,376 1 12 6 1,314 0 18 0 5 3-29 11,825 2,794 1 18 3 581 407 5 9 Ohakune. Palmerston North .. 20,628 73,271 3 11 0 30,126 1 9 2 35 1-68 31,637 12,166 0 11 10 350 4,611 4 6 Palmerston North. Petone .. .. 10,578 27,657 2 12 3 13,387 1 5 4 9 0-87 5,070 1,736 0 3 3 190 1,752 3 4 £ eto ™fPort Chalmers .. 2,463 4,698 1 18 1 2,159 0 17 6 2 0-63 2,135 642 0 5 3 417 245 2 0 Port Chalmers. Rotorua .. .. 5,315 10,064 1 17 11 7,020 1 6 5 8 1-56 7,416 2,351 0 8 10 285 1,080 4 1 Eotorua. Taumarunui .. .. 2,526 8,573 3 7 11 3,162 1 5 0 6 2-30 7,942 1,984 0 15 8 581 522 4 2 Taumarunui. Tauranga 3,021 8,284 2 14 10 4,2611] 1 8 5 1-73 11,457 2,258 0 14 11 431 648 4 3 Tauranga. TeArohs . 2.430 6,416 2 12 10 3,849 1 11 8 4 1-68 4,426 1,664 0 13 8 408 580 4 9 Te Aroha. Timaru 16,702 55.066 3 5 11 17,538 1 1 0 16 0-97 19,457 4,443 0 5 4 276 2,620 3 9 Timara. Waihi 3,541 5,003 1 8 3 2,755 0 15 7 9 2-68 5,909 2,971 0 16 9 313 678 3 10 Waihi. Waitara 1,862 4,330 2 6 6 2,456 1 6 4 1 0-79 5,044 1,378 0 14 10 931 237 2 6 Waitara. Wanganui . .. 24,198 98,409 4 1 4 33.604 1 7 9 37 1-53 14,074 7,738 0 6 5 209 7,193 5 6 Wanganui. Whangarei .. .. 7,045 26,162 3 14 3 8,068 1 2 11 8 1-12 36,569 5,159 0 14 8 655 988 2 10 Whangarei. 542,544 1,957,532 3 12 2 696,941 15 8 770 1-42 .. 249,118 0 9 2 324 105,404 3 11 Fifteen years' average, 1,508,185 5,498,516 3 12 11 1,810,604 1 4 0 f t 1,636,119 960,078 0 12 9 t •• •• Fifteen years' whole Dominion average, whole ■Dominion. * Includes statistics for Onehunga, Mount Roskill, and Newmarket Fire Boards from date of inception to date of incorporation in Auckland Metropolitan Fire Board. t Figures not available. t Twelve-year average. II Fifteen-year average. Thirteen-year average.

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Table IIIb.— Average Statistics for other Fire Districts.

Price 6d.\

Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given; printing (2,270 copieß), £12 108.

By Authority: E. V. Paul, Government Printer, Wellington. —1939.

Table IV.— Areas protected by Fire Boards.

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Period of Municipal lutes Insurance Number WO 'of Ssfnan? Fjre Loss Fire Loss Loss District District. i Average. Population. Kates. per Head. : Premiums. of Fires. Popula- , Individual Fire Los " per Head. per Fire. 1 n e e J e (Years.) r per Head. tion Year. 1 £ ; £ s. d. £ £ s. d. 1 £ £ £ s. d. £ £ s. d. Birkenhead .. 7 3,437 12,805 i 3 14 6 3,936 1 2 11 2 0-54 1,032 322 0 1 11 174 536 3 1 Birkenhead. Cambridge.. .. 8 2,221 7,932 3 11 5 3,104 1 8 0 3 1 14 3,175 1,003 0 9 0 396 480 4 4 Cambridge. Eltham B .. .. 15 2,002 I 6,582 3 5 9 2,411 1 4 1 3 1-50 2,672 861 0 8 7 281 458 4 7 Eltham. Hikurangi .. 11 1,159 2,279 1 19 4 1,060 0 18 3 1 1-09 1,204 309 0 5 4 245 208 3 7 Hikurangi. ilorrinsville .. 3 1,923 8,858 4 12 1 2,408 1 5 0 1 0-35 149 67 0 0 8 100 598 6 3 Morrinsville. Nelson 6 11,327 37,847 3 6 10 15,898 1 8 1 11 1-00 6,977 2,743 0 4 10 242 2,295 4 1 Nelson. Opotiki 10 1,377 3,958 2 17 6 1,408 1 0 6 3 2-03 3,609 659 0 9 7 235 522 7 7 Opotiki. Otaki .. . 14 1.657 4,638 2 16 0 1,803* 1 1 9* 3 1-77 6,659 1,155 0 13 11 394 350 4 3 Otaki. Pahiatua .. 13 1,580 4,149 2 12 6 3,322 2 2 1 3 1-74 11,755 2,262 1 8 8 823 441 6 9 Pahiatua Pukekohe .. 13 2'540 12,412 4 17 9 3,051 1 4 0 3 1-13 5,680 714 0 5 7 249 701 5 6 Pukekohe. Taihape .. .. 9 8,975 3 17 1 3,560 1 10 7 2 0-67 856 199 0 1 8 128 516 4 5 Taihape. Te Awamutu 12 2,021 10,257 5 1 6 3,291 1 12 7 3 1-44 4,510 907 0 9 0 311 508 5 0 Te Awamutu. Waipukurau .. 13 1,995 6,570 3 5 11 2,987 1 9 11 4 1-85 7,167 1,462 0 14 8 395 354 3 6 Waipukurau. Wairoa .. .. 13 2,490 10,554 4 4 9 3,992 1 12 1 5 1-88 101,707f 10,278t 4 2 7 2,191 575 4 7 Wairoa. Wellington .. 13 111,930 489,360 4 7 5 182,591 1 12 7 173 1-54 294,070 84,503 0 15 1 489 29,759 5 4 Wellington. Westport .. .. 15 4,034 9,428 2 6 9 4,256 111 5 1-36 11,989 2,936 0 14 7 537 651 3 3 Westport. Whakatane .. 2 1,890 8,571* 4 10 8 2,402 1 5 5 1 0-53 49 25 0 0 3 25 .. .. Whakatane. Woodville .. .. 8 1,082 2,999 2 15 5 1,342 1 4 10 2 1-97 4,116 921 0 17 0 432 369 6 10 Woodville. * Nine-year average. t Fire-loss figures corrected in accordance with returns supplied subsequently. % One year only.

at tyi v* T?ir^ a in i I nsure( l Fire Uninsured District. Population. C a^f Value. j <*»• U S*5£t Protected by Remarks. j Calls. ol Property., Contents _ Contents. | I I I I I J £ £ £ £ Belfast (works only) .. .. .. . • • ■ • ■ • • • • Christchurch Fire Board .. Payment for attendances. Fairfield . • • • • • • • • ■ • - • • • Hamilton Fire Board .. .. County pays £25 p.a. plus £5 for every call in excess of five. Feilding (works only) .. .. ■ • ■ • ■ • • • • • • - Feilding Fire Board .. . . Payment for attendances. Hamilton (hospital only) .. .. • • - ■ • • • • ■ • • • Hamilton Fire Board .. .. Nominal payment. Hawera .. .. 620* 210,000 .. .. .. .. Hawera Fire Board .. .. County pays £75 p.a. to Fire Board. Mangere .. .. 785* 522,000 .. .. .. .. .. Auckland Metropolitan Fire Board .. County pays £75 p.a. plus £5 for every call in excess of ten. New Lynn .. .. 3,680 534,581 .. .. .. .. . . Auckland Metropolitan Fire Board .. Borough pays £100 p.a. plus £5 for every call in excess of ten. Palmerston North (abattoirs .. .. 1 1 6,155 984 7,139 Palmerston North Fire Board .. Retaining fee of £5 5s. p.a. plus payment for and aero club only) attendances. Cashmere .. f County pays £300 p.a. to Fire Board. Fendalton .. .. .. 52 10 533 1,781 2,314 Christchurch Fire Board .. .. County pays £450 p.a. to Fire Board. Riccarton .... J I Borough pays £450 p.a. to Fire Board. West harbour (works only) .. • • • • • • • • • • • • Dunedin Metropolitan Fire Board .. Payment for attendances. 17,385 1,266,581 53 11 6,688 2,765 9,453 ♦Estimated.