Baches to burn at Long Bay Regional Park

The community at large is set to benefit from the torching of two unwanted baches at Long Bay Regional Park tomorrow (Tuesday 4 February).

The Auckland Regional Council has provided the New Zealand Fire Service with the opportunity to conduct a live fire demonstration in the baches to provide a graphic illustration of the benefits of sprinkler systems to life and property protection.

ARC Parks and Heritage Committee Chairman Bill Burrill says the baches couldn’t be moved and would have been demolished anyway so he is delighted that the regional council has combined with the fire service to achieve considerable public good out of the situation.

“The fire service have told us that the demonstration and subsequent open day will be most beneficial to the community,” Cr Burrill says.

“The baches in the park will provide the fire service with the opportunity to gather experimental data on home sprinkler performance and raise public awareness of the benefits of home sprinkler systems.” Two identical units will be set alight, one with a sprinkler system installed and one without.

“The Long Bay situation is ideal because the fire service hardly ever gets the opportunity to use identical structures in sound condition for comparative fire tests,” Cr Burrill says.

Cr Burrill says the timing of the demonstration is ideal as it allows the fire service to conduct a public awareness campaign at the baches in the park two days later on Waitangi Day.

He says the ARC working in partnership with the fire service is even good news for Auckland ratepayers as this is the least expensive means of disposing of the unwanted baches.

“It’s a genuine win-win situation,” he says.

© Scoop Media