H.— 6a,

20

MAORI HILL. Two inspections of the Maori Hill Brigade, its stations and equipment, have been made — viz., 20th September, 1912, and 7th February, 1913. The following letter was sent to the secretary of the Board in connection with the first inspection : — Sir, — Office of Inspector of Fire Brigades, Wellington, 4th October, 1912. An inspection of the Maori Hill Fire Brigade and its equipment was held on the 18th ultimo, and I beg to submit the following report for the consideration of your Board in that connection :— At the inspection muster there were present the Superintendent and sixteen men : these, with three on leave, accounted for the full strength of the brigade. Various wet drills were carried out in a satisfactory manner. Ihe lips of two of the § in. nozzles require countersinking, and the brigade should be provided with two 1 in. and one § in. new nozzles. I have, ifec, Thos. T. Hugo, Inspector of Fire Brigades. At the second inspection, on 7th February, there were present the Superintendent, Deputy, and ten men; of the remaining strength, five were on leave and three absent. The notice of the inspection was not sent on to, and was not received by, the Superintendent until the evening of the 6th : this accounted for the poor attendance at the muster. The required drills were carried out efficiently, and the stations and appliances are maintained in good order, and condition. A new light hand-drawn hose-reel has been added to the equipment, but no hand-pumps have been obtained, nor has the Superintendent yet been provided with telephonic communication. Two fires have occurred in the district, the same number as during the previous year. The average attendance of members of the brigade at the five calls received was B'2 per call, or 41 per cent, of the strength. Owing to the configuration of the borough the brigade is divided into two distinct sections, each operating in its own portion of the district —except, of course,'in the event of a large fire; therefore the average attendance at the calls is much better than would appear at first glance. The fire loss amounted to £27, compared with £700 for the previous year, a decrease of £673. The estimated cost of the brigade for the year 1913-14 is £200, as against £225 for 1912-13, a decrease of £25. MASTERTON. Two inspections of the Masterton Fire Brigade, its stations and equipment, have been made —viz., 7th November, 1912, and 27th March, 1913; also, a special visit was paid to Masterton for the purpose of considering tenders and advising the Board as to the purchase of a combined hose, ladder, and pump motor-car. At the inspection muster on the 7th November there were present of the fire brigade the Superintendent, Deputy, and seventeen firemen : these, with three on leave, accounted for the full strength of the brigade. Of the Fire Police Corps there were present the Captain, two Lieutenants, and thirteen constables : these, with three on leave, accounted for the full strength—a satisfactory attendance in both cases. An ordinary monthly drill was performed by both bodies, and carried out smartly and efficiently. The following report covers the second inspection :— Sir, — Office of Inspector of Fire Brigades, Wellington, 2nd April, 1913. An inspection of the Masterton Fire Brigade and Fire Police Corps, with their stations and equipments, was held on the 27th ultimo, and in that connection I have the honour to forward the following report for the consideration of your Board :— At the inspection muster there were present —Fire brigade : Superintendent, Deputy, and sixteen firemen; these, with five out of the district on leave, accounted for the full strength. Fire police : Captain, three Lieutenants, and eight constables; these, with two on leave, accounted for fourteen out of the full strength of sixteen. For experimental purposes the steam fire-engine was taken to Hessey Street and worked from the canvas dam solely off the 3 in. main, at a pressure in the town supply varying from 22 lb. to 75 lb. In view of the large number of water-mains of small diameter in different parts of the town, and of the very low pressure prevailing at times, it is necessary the brigade should be supplied with some nozzles of small diameter—say, two J in. and two f in.—and I would suggest they be made in accordance with the patterns purchased by the Government and shortly to arrive. The accumulators in use on the fire-alarm circuits are at present, as for some little time past, working very unsatisfactorily. After returning to the station upon testing the lines the caretaker discovered the current had suddenly dropped below the safe working voltage, necessitating the immediate changing of the batteries. I would recommend that a small engine and generator should be obtained. One of sufficient power for the purpose, run with either gas or oil, and that would also light the station if considered expedient, could be purchased for about £45. Of course, fittings and fixing up would be extra to that amount. The fire-alarm aerial-wire circuits should be tested to see there is no undue leakage. I have, &c, Thos. T. Hugo, Inspector of Fire Brigades.