D—4

The following table shows the number of electrical fires reported compared with the previous year :

REGISTRATION OF ELECTRICAL WIREMEN Examinations were held for electrical wiremen, electrical servicemen, radio servicemen, radio experimenters, and luminous-discharge-tube installers. One thousand two hundred and fifty sat the wiremen's and 610 the servicemen's examinations, a total of 1,860. For the first time maximum marks were obtained in the wiremen's written examination, which has been held twice yearly since 1926. This was achieved by two candidates at the same examination. New registrations during the year totalled 506—312 electrical wiremen and 194 limited registrations. Seventy-five provisional licences were issued to persons arriving in New Zealand from Great Britain and Australia ; the greater proportion were issued to tradesmen assisted under the present immigration scheme. The Registration Board agreed that exemption from the Board's practical examination could not be granted for these tradesmen, but the holders of certificates for certain examinations conducted by the City and Guilds of London Institute would be exempted from the written examination. After considering the requirements of registration, suggestions for inclusion in the proposed Dominion apprenticeship order were made to the Dominion Commission of Apprenticeship. The proposed schemes for all New Zealand Railways Department's electrical apprentices and for the training of apprentices during their term of service in the Army were approved by the Board. Provision was made for limited registration for the installation and maintenance of x-ray and electro medical equipment. The Registration Board nominated the Registrar as its representative on the New Zealand Trades Certification Board established under the Trades Certification Act, 1948. , _ As a result of a purge, 951 names were removed from the registers of electrical wiremen and limited registration. One hundred and eighty of these names had been restored at the 31st March, 1949. PERSONNEL At the 31st March, 1949, a total of 4,754 employees were engaged on hydro-electric work. Of these, 2,311 were directly employed by this Department and the remaining 2,443 were on construction under the immediate control of the Ministry of Works. The total under the control of the State Hydro-electric Department comprised 1,716 on operation and maintenance and 595 on construction.

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Year Ended ! j Year Ended 31st March, 1 31st March, 1949. | 1948. Accessories 4 2 Appliances 8 3 Contact between aerial conductors 3 3 Contact between metal conduit and composition gas-pipe 2 Fittings 1 Fixed wiring (sub-mains and sub-circuits) 5 1 Flexible cables and cords 1 1 Improper use of appliances (irons, radiators, urns, and 6 7 ovens, &c, left switched on) Rodents .. '.. .. 2 4. Service mains 1 Substations i Switchboards (wiring behind and accessories on) 3 12 Total 35 35