CO129-614-1 Commission of Inquiry into fire at West Point- report 26-5-1949 - 22-12-1949 — Page 62

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facilities for storage are limited we consider that the regulations

are in general practicable and should be strictly enforced for the

benefit of the public. We further consider that such enforcement should

present no great hardship to owners of goods or to p2w-owners.

Classification of Dangerous Goods by Fire Insurance Companies and

Their Tariff:

78. We have said earlier that the failure to observe the regulations

was in our opinion principally due to ignorance, but we consider that the tariffs of the Fire Insurance Companies are a contributory cause.

The basic idea of the fire insurance tariff is simple. Goods are divi-

ded into three classes, "non-hazardous", "hazardous" and "extra-hazard-

ous", which classification is set out in detail in Appendix 4 together with the equivalent category of the commodity in the Dangerous Goods

Regulations. We understand that this classification is basically the

same as that adopted by fire insurance companies the world over, but

it is simpler than that adopted in the United Kingdom. Its merit is

its simplicity; its fault is that it is simplified to the extent of

directing the eyes of owners of goods and owners of godowns away from

the official regulations regarding the storage of goods.

79. The premiuns charged for the insurance of goods stored in a "non-

hazardous godown" are less than those charged for storage in a "hazard-

ous godown", and so on. The insurance certificate includes a warranty

that the insurance will be invalid if goods of a more hazardous nature

are stored in a godown for which a less hazardous rate is charged. This

therefore puts upon the godown-keeper an obligation to his customers

to store only certain classes of goods. If the classification of goods

corresponded more closely to that adopted in the dangerous goods regul-

ations, it would be an invaluable adjunct to the observation of the law.

"Haxardous" goods are for the most part those placed in the regulations

under Category 8. "Extra-hazardous" goods include representatives from

every other category of dangerous goods, but the tariff places no re-

striction on their storage within the same premises, while the regulat-

ions usually insist on segregated storage especially of cinematograph