FIRE BOATS
17. The new sea-going fire boat bearing the name of His Excellency the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Alexander Grantham, was officially taken over from the builders and placed in commission in July, 1953. The vessel is fitted with 8 monitors (one of which is on a telescopic tower extending to 60 feet high) and 4 pumps with a pumping capacity of 630,000 gallons per hour.
18. No. 1 Fire Boat, a Tanac type vessel, fitted with 1 monitor only and carrying 2 trailer pumps, which was utilized as a fire boat after the liberation of the Colony was sub- sequently returned to the Marine Department after the Fire Boat "Alexander Grantham" was placed in commission.
19. The other 2 fire boats Nos. 2 and 3 were regularly slipped, overhauled and maintained by the Marine Department.
HYDRANTS AND WATER SUPPLY
20. Fire hydrants, both pedestal and ground, were in- spected quarterly and all defects reported to the Water Authority for repair.
21. By the end of the year, new installations and replacements had brought the total number of pedestal and ground hydrants to 556 and 1,178 respectively.
22. Throughout the year the Water Authority provided turncocks at fire stations to allow water valves to be opened during the hours when water supply was restricted. In spite of these arrangements fire fighting operations were handicapped to some extent during the restricted hours.
23. To conserve domestic water supply, efforts were made to utilize other available water for fire fighting such as sea water, nullah water, or water from static water tanks.
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