Volunteer Fire Brigades Want Only The Best

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30388, 12 March 1964, Page 17

Volunteer Fire Brigades Want Only The Best

Rivalry between small fire brigades, particularly volunteer ones, is embarrassing the New Zealand Fire Service Council. In their zeal to be more efficient, smarter, and better equipped than their neighbours, brigades want the best, and dearest, fire engines available. An Fl2 fire engine, powered with eight-cylinder Rolls-Royce engine, is the ambition of any volunteer brigade with pride in its performance—even a brigade serving the smallest, most sparsely-populated district. Rivalry between fire brigades was discussed at a meeting of the Christchurch Metropolitan Fire Board last night—with two Rolls-Royce-engined fire engines within 50 feet of the board room—when an inquiry from the Waikouaiti Fire Brigade was received concerning its buying one of the board’s older engines, which are to be replaced soon by new ones. The board also received advice that the New Zealand Urban Fire Authorities’ Association supported the Fire Service Council in ruling that brigades should not buy equipment of a higher standard than that laid down by the council. “The trouble is that these smaller brigades would all like to be equipped with Fl 2 and F 8 fire engines, even if the coverage given by them does not require such a big and expensive engine,” the board’s chairman (Mr W. R. Campbell) commented.

“One fire brigade will request an FB, and, when refused by the Fire Sendee Council, will point out that a neighbouring brigade has one . . . and why should that brigade be favoured. . . . Local Donations

“In many instances, the fire engine has been purchased by raising funds for it locally, up to £5OOO. The Fire Service Council naturally does not, and will not, refuse to permit a fire engine which has been partly or wholly financed by local donations.

“But the council, rightly, will not allow the community in general, through funds provided by all through Government taxes, insurance premiums-, and local body rates, to pay for a costly fire engine when it is not needed.” Members of the board expressed appreciation of volunteer fire brigades which desired to be equipped with only the best appliances, and communities which took pride in their brigades to the extent of giving money for such equipment.