BUSIEST CHRISTMAS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 306, 26 December 1936, Page 5

BUSIEST CHRISTMAS.

ST. JOHN AMBULANCE,

MANY ACCIDENT CASES.

The twenty-four hours' period whip}, embraced Christmas Eve—from S am oil Thursday to S a.m. vesterdav—was one of the busiest the St. John Ambulance Association in Auckland lias ever experienced. During the night the staff was continuously engaged. Five machines were iii use a?l the time, and it was 3 a.m. before the men on late duty were able to 'relax.

The runs made during the 24-hour period amounted to 40. Eighteen of these were accident cases, 12 of them occurring between 0 p.m. and midnight on Christmas Eve, and four after midnight. Senior ofliecrs said to-day that it was the busiest Christmas they had ever known. The wet weather was probably a factor in the large number of accidents, they said, and it made the task of the ambulance officers all the more difficult. Ceaseless duty in the machines, with visibility bad, was exacting work. Fortunately no trips of any great length were necessary.

| Then, after the call to private eases 'and to mishaps on the crowded streets had eased, a procession began in the late hours to the Rutland Street headquarters. It was comprised apparently of vicitims of too hectic a spirit of conviviality. The bell at the door rang at intervals from midnight to tlnee in the morning, and black eyes, cut lips and bruised faces were treated.