13 MAY]

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE

PART III—OUT-DISTRICT SERVICE

REINFORCEMENT AT SERIOUS FIRES

1. It is in almost all cases uneconomic and unnecessary for provision to be made for the maintenance within the district of sufficient men and appliances for dealing with the most severe outbreak of fire which might occur. The Council, therefore, directs that every Urban Fire Authority shall, where practicable, make agreements with the Urban Fire Authorities of adjacent districts for the reinforcement between the brigades at serious fires at least up to the standard set out in clause 3 of Part II of this Code. The Council recommends that, since this service is likely to be reciprocal and required only infrequently, no charge should be made between Authorities for reinforcement services, except where assistance is required in excess of that laid down in the Code. In this case no agreements for mutual assistance will exist with respect to the more distant brigades, and the Council recommends the payment of the appropriate attendance charges prescribed by the Fire Services Regulations 1954.

OPERATIONS AT EMERGENCY FIRES

2. The emergency contemplated by the Act is the existence or threat of one or more fires arising from enemy attack, earthquake, major explosion, or forest fire which cannot be controlled by the local service even when reinforced under the supporting arrangements as defined in clause 1 of this Part. Long continued operation or standby duty in a threatened area may be necessary. The officers responsible for the control of operations at the scene may be so heavily engaged that the assembly of further reinforcements may be impracticable from within the emergency area, particularly as the normal system of communications may break down in emergency or become overloaded. The whole of New Zealand is divided into 16 regions each with a Regional Officer based on the following centres and individual Authorities will be advised of the region to which they are attached.

Region No. 1 Whangarei.
Region No. 2 Auckland.
Region No. 3 Hamilton.
Region No. 4 Rotorua.
Region No. 5 Gisborne.
Region No. 6 New Plymouth.
Region No. 7 Palmerston North.
Region No. 8 Napier.

Region No. 9 Wellington.
Region No. 10 Masterton.
Region No. 11 Nelson.
Region No. 12 Greymouth.
Region No. 13 Christchurch.
Region No. 14 Timaru.
Region No. 15 Dunedin.
Region No. 16 Invercargill.

3. Chief Fire Officers must ensure that the Regional Officer will be notified immediately of any emergency arising in their areas. The Regional Officer must be informed of the nature of the emergency, the number and type of appliances, any special equipment and personnel required, and the place to which reinforcements are to report. Reporting points should be conspicuous, and arrangements should be made for reinforcements to be met and guided.

Except in case of war, when the Chief Fire Service Officer or his nominee will be in command, the local fire officer holding responsibility under the Fire Services Act 1949 will be in charge of operations, unless he decides to delegate his responsibilities for the time being to a more experienced fire officer.

Where reinforcements are required, those appliances which are able to reach the fire first must be despatched. It would be indefensible to retain appliances in reserve in case of a second call when those appliances are already urgently required at an existing emergency. While the proviso to section 32 (3) of the Fire Services Act 1949 gives to Chief Fire Officers the responsibility of determining whether or not appliances are to leave their district, it is considered that they should not retain appliances requested by the Regional Officer except where there is already a fire in their district not yet under control.

4. It will be the responsibility of the Regional Officer to arrange for the immediate despatch of the required appliances, equipment, and men to the reporting point, and to close in appliances from more distant brigades to stand by where necessary and provide cover for towns which have been denuded.

He will detail a suitable officer to proceed with all despatch to the reporting point in the emergency area and to act for liaison purposes between the local controlling officer and the reinforcements. He will, at the same time, report the existence of the emergency to the Chief Fire Service Officer. In the event of the Chief Fire Service Officer or his deputy not being available, the Regional Officer will act in his stead.

Detailed operational schemes are in preparation for issue to all Regional Officers and Chief Fire Officers detailing the regions and the mobilizing procedure.