The Short Title of this Act is “The Fire Brigades Act, 1908.”

This Act is a consolidation of the enactments mentioned in the Schedule hereto, and with respect to those enactments the following provisions shall apply:—

Savings. 1907, No. 64, sec. 2

In this Act, if not inconsistent with the context,—

The Cities of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, and all other districts which have before the coming into operation of this Act been declared to be fire districts by the Governor under the authority of “The Fire Brigades Act, 1906,” or “The Fire Brigades Act, 1907,” and are subsisting on the coming into operation of this Act, shall be fire districts under this Act, and shall be subject to the provisions of this Act accordingly.

This section applies to any district declared to be a fire district in accordance with “The Fire Brigades Act, 1906,” although such district could not be lawfully declared to be a fire district under this Act.

This section shall be construed subject to any Order in Council heretofore made under section seven of “The Fire Brigades Act, 1907,” pursuant to which any fire district has ceased to be a fire district.

The Governor may by Order in Council, on the application of any Borough Council, County Council, or Road Board, declare the district within the jurisdiction of such Borough Council, County Council, or Road Board to be a fire district under this Act, and the said district shall thereupon become a fire district accordingly.

No such application may be made to the Governor unless—

No such proposal shall be deemed to be carried unless affirmed by a majority of the valid votes recorded.

Whenever in any fire district any area ceases to be within the jurisdiction of the contributory local authority, that area shall at the same time cease to be within the fire district.

Whenever in the case of any fire district any area is added to the district within the jurisdiction of the contributory local authority, that area shall at the same time become part of the fire district.

The provisions contained in this section shall be deemed to have been also contained in “The Fire Brigades Act, 1906,” as from the coming into operation of that Act.

The Governor shall by Order in Council, on the application of the contributory local authority of any fire district, declare that such district shall, as from a date to be specified in such Order in Council, cease to be a fire district, and the same shall as from that date cease to be a fire district accordingly.

When any district so ceases to be a fire district the Fire Board of that district shall be dissolved, and all its property and liabilities shall become the property and liabilities of the Corporation of the contributory local authority.

In any such case the contributory local authority shall repay to the insurance companies carrying on business in the fire district at the date of the dissolution of the Board such sums as the Governor determines to be just and equitable, having regard to the value of the property so becoming vested in the local authority, and to the contributions made by such companies towards the cost of the acquisition thereof by the Board.

Every sum so repayable by the local authority to any insurance company shall constitute a debt recoverable by that company from the local authority in any Court of competent jurisdiction.

For every fire district there shall be a Fire Board, which shall consist of seven members, and shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal.

Subject to the provisions of subsection three of section three hereof, the Fire Boards for the Cities of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin shall be called the Auckland Fire Board, the Wellington Fire Board, the Christchurch Fire Board, and the Dunedin Fire Board respectively, and in like manner every other Fire Board shall be called by the name of the district of the contributory local authority.

Every Fire Board constituted under the authority of “The Fire Brigades Act, 1906,” or “The Fire Brigades Act, 1907,” and subsisting on the coming into operation of this Act, shall continue to subsist, and shall be subject to the provisions of this Act, as if constituted under the authority thereof, and the members of every such Board shall continue to be members thereof for the term for which they were elected or appointed, subject, however, to the provisions of this Act.

Of the seven members of a Fire Board one shall be appointed by the Governor, three shall be elected by the contributory local authority, and three shall be elected by the insurance companies which for the time being are carrying on business within the fire district.

The election of members of a Fire Board by the insurance companies shall be conducted in accordance with rules made from time to time in manner following by the representatives of the insurance companies carrying on business in New Zealand:—

All rules purporting to be made under the authority of this section of this Act, and approved by the Governor and gazetted, shall be conclusively presumed to have been duly made in pursuance of this Act, and shall not be questioned in any Court.

The. rules purporting to be made under the authority of section four of “The Fire Brigades Act, 1906,” and published in the Gazette of the twenty-fifth day of April, one thousand nine hundred and seven, are hereby declared to have, and to have had from the said date, the force of law, and shall continue in force as if duly made under the authority of this Act; but they may be rescinded, altered, or added to by rules made in pursuance of the provisions of this section.

Any member of a Fire Board who is adjudicated bankrupt, or who assigns or attempts to assign his estate for the benefit of his creditors, or who compounds with his creditors for less than twenty shillings in the pound, or who is convicted on indictment of any crime, or who becomes of unsound mind, shall be incapable of continuing to be a member of the Fire Board, and his seat shall thereupon become vacant.

If any member of a Fire Board is, without the leave of the Board, absent from three consecutive meetings of the Board, the Board may declare the seat of that member to be vacant, and it shall thereupon become vacant accordingly.

No person shall be capable of being elected or appointed as a member of a Fire Board, or of continuing to be a member of a Fire Board, who holds or accepts any office or place of profit under such Board, or who is or becomes concerned or interested in any contract made by the Board:

Provided that no person being a shareholder or member of any incorporated company consisting of more than twenty persons shall be disqualified from becoming or continuing to be a member of any Fire Board by reason merely of a contract entered into between such company and the Board, but it shall not be lawful for any such shareholder or member to act as a member of the Board in any matter relating to such contract.

A member of a Fire Board may resign his office by writing delivered to the Chairman or Secretary of the Board, and in any such case, or whenever any vacancy occurs in the Board from any other cause, the Chairman or Secretary shall notify the fact to the Board and also to the Minister, who shall take the necessary steps for the appointment or election of a member to fill the said vacancy.

If from any cause any local authority or the insurance companies whose duty it is to elect a member of any Fire Board fail, neglect, or refuse to do so within the time appointed in that behalf, the Governor in Council may appoint any person whomsoever to be a member of such Board in lieu of the member who ought so to have been elected, and such person shall be deemed for all purposes to have been elected by the said local authority or insurance companies, as the case may be.

No act or proceeding of any Fire Board shall be invalidated or be deemed illegal in consequence only of the number of the members of such Board not being complete at the time of such act or proceeding.

All acts and proceedings of a Fire Board shall, notwithstanding the fact that there was some defect in the appointment or election of any person as a member thereof, or that any member is disqualified or not entitled to act or vote, be as valid as if every such person had been duly appointed or elected, as the case may be, and was qualified to be and to act and vote as a member of such Board.

Every Fire Board shall be deemed to come into existence as a corporate body so soon as any member thereof has been duly appointed by the Governor in accordance with section nine hereof, and no sooner.

Nothing in this section shall be so construed as to prevent the election of elective members of the Board before the appointment of a member by the Governor.

The provisions of this section shall be deemed to have been also included in “The Fire Brigades Act, 1906,” as from the date of the coming into operation of that Act.

Every member of a Fire Board, whether elected or appointed, shall, unless he sooner resigns, dies, or vacates his seat, hold office until the election or appointment of his successor.

The election and appointment of members of every Fire Board shall take place in the month of May in every alternate year, and the first of such biennial elections and appointments shall, except as hereinafter provided, take place in the month of May, one thousand nine hundred and nine.

In the case of any fire district first constituted after the coming into operation of this Act the Minister may by notification in the Gazette appoint a day for the holding of the first election of members of the Fire Board of that district, and the appointment by the Governor of a member of such Board may be made at any time after the constitution of such district.

Any such election shall take place and be conducted in the same manner, mutatis mutandis, as if it were a biennial election held under the provisions of the last preceding section, and all rules made by insurance companies and for the time being in force with respect to such biennial elections shall be applicable, mutatis mutandis, to the elections provided for by this section.

If on the coming into operation of this Act the number of the members of any Fire Board already constituted is incomplete, the election or appointment of any member required to complete the said number shall take place in accordance with the provisions of this section.

In the event of an extraordinary vacancy occurring in the office of a member of the Board, whether by death, resignation, or otherwise, such vacancy shall, within one month after the occurrence thereof, be filled by the appointment or election, as the case may be, of some person to be a member of the Board, who shall hold office so long only as his predecessor would have held it.

On or before the thirtieth day of June in every year every Fire Board shall submit to the Minister for his approval an estimate of the probable expenditure necessary for the administration of this Act within the fire district for the year commencing on the first day of July following.

No such estimate shall have any force or effect until approved by the Minister.

Every such estimate shall include not only the amount of recurrent annual expenditure, but also the amount of capital expenditure necessary for the purchase of land, the erection of buildings, or for any other purpose contemplated by this Act, save that with the consent of the Minister the amount of any such capital expenditure incurred in any year may be apportioned and extended over a period of years.

Any such estimate may include the amount of any deficiency in the revenue of the Board for the preceding year.

In every such estimate account shall be taken of any surplus in the revenue of the Board for the preceding year.

In the case of every Board which is first constituted after the coming into operation of this Act, the first estimate of expenditure made by such Board shall be for the year beginning on the first day of July next after the constitution of the Board, but such estimate may include the amount of any preliminary expenses incurred by the Board in the interval between the date of its constitution and the said first day of July.

In the case of every Board which was constituted before the coming into operation of “The Fire Brigades Act, 1907,” but the number of whose members first became complete after that date, the first estimate of expenditure made by such Board shall be for the year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred and eight, but such estimate may include the amount of any preliminary expenses incurred in the interval between the date of its constitution and the said first day of July.

The amount of the annual expenditure so estimated shall be contributed and paid to the Board in manner and in the proportions following, that is to say:—

The amounts to be so contributed shall in every case be payable in equal quarterly payments in advance on the first day of July, the first day of October, the first day of January, and the first day of April in every year.

The provisions of this section shall be deemed to have been also included in “The Fire Brigades Act, 1906,” as from the coming into operation of that Act, in hen of the provisions of sections eleven and twelve of that Act.

For the purpose of ascertaining the amount to be contributed by each insurance company the following provisions shall apply:—

If any insurance company liable to contribute under this Act fails to pay any such quarterly payment as is hereinbefore prescribed within thirty days after such payment becomes due, the amount of such payment, together with interest thereon at the rate of ten per centum per annum, computed from the expiration of such thirty days, may be recovered as a debt due from such company to the Board.

If any local authority liable to contribute under this Act fails to pay any such quarterly payment within thirty days as aforesaid, the amount of such payment, together with interest thereon at the rate and computed in manner aforesaid, may be paid to the Board by the Minister of Finance, and deducted by him from any moneys payable to such local authority by way of subsidy under any Act, or may be recovered as a debt due from such local authority to the Board.

In order to raise the amount required by section twenty-one hereof to be contributed by the local authority, it may either pay the same out of its general rate or make and levy for that purpose a separate rate on the value of the buildings in the fire district, exclusive of the value of the sites on which such buildings are erected.

No rate of any description shall be levied by any local authority on any property vested in and occupied by a Fire Board.

A Fire Board may from time to time borrow money by way of a bank overdraft:

Provided that it shall not be lawful for any Board to borrow any money which, together with all other moneys already borrowed and then owing, exceeds in amount the estimated expenditure of the Board, as approved by the Minister, for the financial year then current.

It shall be the duty of every Fire Board to establish and maintain efficient brigades for the suppression and extinction of fires, and for protecting life and property from loss or damage by fire, and to provide such buildings and equipment as it deems necessary for such purposes.

In the case of any Fire Board first constituted after the coming into operation of this Act, the duty imposed by this section shall be imposed as from the thirtieth day of June next following the date of the constitution of the Board.

In the case of every Fire Board which has been constituted before the date of the coming into operation of “The Fire Brigades Act, 1907,” but the number of whose members first became complete after that date, the duty imposed by this section shall be deemed to have been imposed as from the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred and eight.

A Fire Board may purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire and hold such real and personal property as the Board deems necessary for the purposes of this Act.

Every Fire Board may sell, lease, mortgage, charge, or otherwise dispose of any real or personal property vested in it.

Every such sale, lease, mortgage, charge, or other disposition of any land or buildings shall be subject to the consent of the Minister.

No land or buildings which have become vested in a Board by virtue of section twenty-nine hereof shall be sold, leased, mortgaged, charged, or otherwise disposed of by the Board without the consent of the local authority from which the said land or buildings were acquired until all moneys payable by the Board to such local authority in respect of such property under the provisions of the said section have been fully paid.

The Minister or the said local authority in so consenting to any such sale, lease, mortgage, charge, or other disposition may impose conditions as to the manner in which any moneys so obtained by the Board shall be expended for fire-prevention purposes, and the Board shall expend the same accordingly.

All plant and other property (not being land or buildings) used for public fire-prevention purposes in any fire district at the date of the constitution of that district, and belonging to any local authority within that district, shall, except as hereinafter provided, become vested by virtue of this Act in the Fire Board of that district.

All land and buildings used for public fire-prevention purposes in any fire district at the date of the constitution of that district, and vested in fee-simple in any local authority within that district, shall, except as hereinafter provided, he transferred by the local authority owning the same to the Fire Board, and that Board shall accept such transfer. Pending any such transfer the Board shall be entitled to the use and occupation of such land and buildings.

All plant, land, buildings, or other property which by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this section becomes vested in or is transferred to a Fire Board shall be valued either by agreement or by arbitration under the provisions of “The Arbitration Act, 1908,” as if this section were a submission within the meaning of that Act.

The Fire Board shall pay to the local authority which owned the said property the capital value thereof as so determined (together with interest thereon) by twenty-six annual instalments equal to five per centum of the said capital value.

Every such instalment shall be deemed to include both principal and interest, and shall he paid at such time or times as the Board and the local authority agree upon, and in default of any such agreement, then at the end of each financial year of the Board.

If any property which so becomes vested in or is so transferred to a Fire Board is subject to any mortgage or charge, the local authority which owned such property shall indemnify the Fire Board against any liability for such mortgage or charge, and the capital value, to be determined as aforesaid, shall be the capital value of the said property as if free from any such mortgage or charge.

If any local authority objects to transfer any land or buildings to a Fire Board under the provisions of this section on the ground that it is inexpedient in the public interest that such land or buildings should be permanently devoted to fire-prevention purposes, the dispute shall be determined by arbitration in manner aforesaid; and if the objection of the local authority is maintained by the arbitrators, the said land or buildings shall be exempt from the operation of this section.

Any dispute as to the application of this section to any property, liability, or other matter shall be determined by arbitration in manner aforesaid.

No stamp or other duty shall be chargeable upon any conveyance, transfer, or other assurance executed in pursuance of the provisions of this section.

No property shall be deemed to be used or held in trust for public fire-prevention purposes within the meaning of this section if it is used for the protection of one or more specified buildings exclusively.

Notwithstanding anything in this section, a Fire Board constituted after the coming into operation of “The Fire Brigades Act, 1907,” may, within the time and in the manner hereinafter mentioned, refuse to accept any land, buildings, plant, or other property, and in such case this section shall have and be deemed to have had no operation with respect to that property. Every such refusal shall be made and notice thereof given to the local authority owning such property within two months after the first meeting of the Board.

Section thirty-one of “The Fire Brigades Act, 1906,” shall be deemed never to have come into operation, and the provisions of this section shall be deemed to have been also included in the said Act as from the date of the coming into operation thereof.

The date at which property shall vest or be deemed to have vested in any Fire Board by virtue of the provisions of this section, and the date at which any Fire Board is entitled by virtue of these provisions to take possession of any property and to obtain a transfer thereof, shall be determined as follows:—

In every fire district there shall be a Superintendent of Fire Brigades, a Deputy Superintendent of Fire Brigades, and a Secretary of the Fire Board.

The said officers shall be appointed and removable by the Board, and shall receive such salaries as the Board determines.

All persons appointed to any such office under the authority of “The Fire Brigades Act, 1906,” or “The Fire Brigades Act, 1907,” and holding office on the coming into operation of this Act, shall continue in office as if appointed under this Act.

Every Fire Board may from time to time appoint and remove all such officers and members of brigades, and all such other officers and servants, as it deems necessary for the administration of this Act, and may pay to such officers, members, and servants such salaries or other remuneration as it thinks fit.

Subject to any by-laws or regulations made by the Board, every Superintendent shall perform the following duties and may exercise the following powers in the case of any fire happening within the fire district:—

During the absence from any fire of the Superintendent the Deputy Superintendent, and during the absence of both the Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent any officer for the time being in charge of any brigade engaged at such fire, shall have all the powers and duties hereinbefore conferred and imposed on the Superintendent.

The authority of every Superintendent, or Deputy Superintendent, or any officer of a fire brigade shall be recognised by all members of the Police Force and all other persons, and it shall be the duty of every constable present at any fire to assist any such Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, or officer in the maintenance of his authority and in enforcing obedience by all persons to his lawful orders.

Every Superintendent or Deputy Superintendent shall have free access at all reasonable times to any building, land, or premises, and to any part thereof, for the purpose of ascertaining whether the requirements of this Act or of any by-laws made under the authority thereof have been duly observed with respect to such building, land, or premises.

Every person who obstructs or hinders any Superintendent or Deputy Superintendent in the exercise of the powers conferred by this section is liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

Any damage to property occasioned by a fire brigade, or by a Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, or by any officer or member of a fire brigade, at or in connection with any fire occurring in a fire district shall be deemed to be damage by fire within the meaning of any policy of insurance against fixe covering the property so damaged.

Every Fire Board shall hold at least four meetings in every year—that is to say, in the months of March, June, September, and December.

At the first meeting of every Board, and at every annual meeting—that is to say, the meeting to be held in the month of June—and as often as the office of Chairman becomes vacant, the members shall elect one of their number to be Chairman, who shall hold office until the appointment of his successor.

The Chairman shall preside at each meeting of the Board at which he is present; but in his absence from any meeting the members present shall elect a member to act as Chairman at such meeting.

The Chairman at any meeting shall have a casting as well as a deliberative vote.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, every Board may regulate its own proceedings.

The first meeting of any Fire Board which is first constituted after the coming into operation of this Act, or of any Fire Board which was constituted before the coming into operation of this Act, but the number of whose members first becomes complete after the coming into operation of this Act, shall be held on such day as the Minister, by notification in the Gazette, appoints.

At every meeting of a Fire Board four members shall form a quorum, and no business shall be transacted at any meeting unless a quorum is present thereat.

No member of any Fire Board shall be personally responsible for any act or omission of the Board of which he is a member.

No action shall be brought against any Fire Board to recover damages for any loss or damage due to the failure or neglect of the Board to perform its statutory duty of making adequate provision for the suppression of fires and the protection of life and property against fire.

The common seal of a Fire Board shall not be affixed to any deed or instrument except in the presence of two of the members of the Board, and every deed or instrument for which such seal is required shall be signed by two of the members and by the Secretary of the Board.

Every contract which if made by a private person would require to be under seal shall, if made by a Fire Board, be made under its common seal in manner hereinbefore provided.

Every contract which if made by a private person would require to be in writing shall, if made by a Fire Board, be in writing signed by some person thereunto lawfully authorised by the Board.

Every other contract may be made verbally on behalf of the Board by any person thereunto lawfully authorised by the Board.

It shall be lawful for any Fire Board, if it thinks fit, to pay to any member thereof the amount actually expended by him by way of travelling-expenses in attending the meetings of the Board or in the performance of his duties as a member of the Board.

Every Fire Board shall keep full and correct accounts of all moneys received and expended, and of all assets and liabilities; and shall, within twenty-eight days after the thirtieth day of June in every year, cause to be prepared a balance-sheet, together with a statement of income and expenditure for the financial year ending on that day.

Such balance-sheet and statement, after being audited by the Audit Office, shall be sent to the Minister, who shall, within ten days after the receipt thereof, lay the same before Parliament if sitting, and if not, then within ten days after the commencement of the next ensuing session.

A copy of such balance-sheet and statement shall also be sent by the Fire Board to each contributing insurance company and local authority in the fire district.

Every Fire Board may from time to time make by-laws providing for any of the following matters:—

All such by-laws shall, when approved by the Minister and gazetted, have the force of law.

Any Fire Board may, if it thinks fit, establish and maintain a force of men charged with the duty of attending at fires and saving property, and may furnish such force with all necessary appliances and plant for the performance of such duties.

Every Fire Board, its officers and servants, shall have the use of all water-mains, water-plugs, and valve-pipes belonging to any local authority having jurisdiction in the fire district or any part thereof, and of all water therein or in any well or tank, free of charge, for the purpose of extinguishing any fire, or for the purpose of drills conducted under the authority of the Board:

Provided that the water in a private well or tank shall not be used for the purpose of drills only except with the consent of the owner.

In the case of any fire within a fire district the Board of that district may require any Coroner having jurisdiction within that district to hold an inquest as to that fire, and the said Coroner shall hold such inquest accordingly.

In any such case the Board may take and retain possession of any premises where the fire occurred, and of the contents of such premises, pending the holding of the inquest as to that fire.

At any inquest on a fire within a fire district the Board may be represented by a member thereof, or by the Superintendent or Deputy Superintendent, or by any person authorised by the Board, who may adduce evidence and examine and cross-examine witnesses.

A Fire Board may expend such part of its revenues as it thinks fit in the payment of premiums on policies of accident insurance issued by any insurance company to officers or members of any fire brigade under the control of such Board.

Every person who, whether in a fire district or not, interferes with any fire-alarm without lawful justification, or wilfully gives or causes to be given, or attempts to give or cause to be given, to any fire brigade any false alarm of fire, commits an offence, and is liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one month or to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

If such false alarm is so given in a fire district, the amount of such fine shall be paid to the Fire Board of that district, and in any other case the said amount shall be paid to the local authority, trustees, or other persons in whom the plant and appliances used by the brigade are vested.

The Governor may from time to time appoint some fit person to be Inspector of Fire Brigades.

The Governor may also from time to time appoint some fit person to be Deputy Inspector of Fire Brigades, who, under the control of the Inspector of Fire Brigades, shall perform such duties as he is called upon to perform in the carrying-out of this Act, and who, in case of the absence, illness, or other temporary incapacity of the Inspector of Fire Brigades, shall act in his name and on his behalf, and while so acting shall have and may exercise all the powers, duties, and functions of the Inspector of Fire Brigades.

Such Inspector of Fire Brigades and Deputy Inspector shall be paid such salaries as are from time to time appropriated by Parliament.

The Inspector of Fire Brigades shall at least once in each year inspect every brigade under the control of any Fire Board, and shall give such advice and assistance to the Board as he may deem necessary for the efficient administration of this Act.

The Inspector of Fire Brigades shall report to the Minister at least once in each year as to the administration of this Act by the Board in every fire district, and as to the efficiency of any brigade under the control of such Board.

The Inspector of Fire Brigades shall perform such other duties in connection with the administration of this Act as are from time to time prescribed by regulations.

Sections two hundred and fifty-two to two hundred and fifty-nine of “The Municipal Corporations Act, 1908,” shall not apply to any borough which is a fire district.

It shall not be lawful for the occupier of any building situated in a fire district to use such building or any part thereof, or to permit the same or any part thereof to be used, for public meetings, or as assembly-rooms, or as a theatre, or music-hall, or dancing-hall, or for any public performances or public amusements whatever, or for purposes of public worship, or for any local authority to license any building for any such purpose, unless the same is provided to the satisfaction of the Superintendent, or such officer as he may appoint, with sufficient safeguards against and means of escape in case of fire.

The Superintendent shall at all times have free access to any and every part of any such building in order to ascertain whether or not such provision exists, and shall annually report to the Board thereon in the case of every such building.

The Board on receipt of such report shall forward the same, or a copy thereof, to the Mayor or Chairman of the local authority within whose district such building is situate.

Every person who commits any breach of the provisions of this section, or who obstructs or hinders the Superintendent or such other officer as aforesaid in inspecting any building to which this section applies, is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

The Governor may from time to time by Order in Council make any regulations which he deems necessary for the effectual administration of this Act.