‘Firemen’s Strike Would Endanger Lives, Homes’

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29824, 17 May 1962, Page 14

‘Firemen’s Strike Would Endanger Lives, Homes’

If the Christchurch Fire Brigadesmen’s Union carried out its threatened strike and refused to man the watchroom at the Central Fire Station every night from tomorrow, it would endanger the lives and property of all in the city and suburbs, said the chairman of the Christchurch Metropolitan Fire Board (Mr W. R. Campbell) last evening.

“The watchroom in the central station is the nervecentre of the metropolitan fire-fighting services. AH calls, for the four perman-ently-manned stations and the volunteer brigades at New Brighton, Sumner, and i Lyttelton, go through the | central watchroom.’* Mr Campbell said. "It is no use the union saying it will turn out to fire calls but not man the watchroom, because if there is nobody in the watch room then firemen and officers on duty would not even know an alarm call had been sent in by telephone, street boxes, or automatic detectors,” Mr Campbell said. ‘Tiie men and officers might as well be on holiday if the watchroom is not manned—it is the nervecentre.”

Mr Campbell said that the Chief Fire Officer (Mr L.

R. Osmond) and his deputy (Mr C. H. Robinson) were not members of the union, and the union had said it “could not care less .who manned the watchroom” as long as its members did not. “But the board is faced with a dilemma.” Mr Campbell said. “Outsiders cannot do the job in the watchroom. I would go down there myself, and so would other members of the board, but it is a job that cannot be done without training, as there are complicated routines arising from complicated mechanisms to pass out alarm information that comes into the watchroom. “Mr Osmond and Mr Robinson could man the watchroom for a period, but they could not do it indefinitely from 4.15 p.m. to 8 a.m. They have other duties and responsibilities as well. “It would suit the board’s

book to say that arrangements are in hand for the safety of the public in the event of the union carrying out its threat, but I am enable to say that this is the “The board could not caH in volunteer firemen to do the duties refused by the paid men—it would be an intolerable situation. “The union must know that if the watchroom is not manned because of a refusal by officers and men to man it, then lives and homes will be endangered,” Mr Campbell said.