PROTECTION FROM FIRES

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 138, 7 March 1941, Page 8

PROTECTION FROM FIRES

Outbreaks Due To

Enemy Action

EMERGENCY SERVICE TO BE FORMED

Main Centres And Larger Towns

The Government, in collaboration with local authorities and lire boards, has completed arrangements for the establishment in the main centres and principal secondary towns of an emergency fire-fighting force to meet conditions which would arise if such towns were subjected to enemy air raids or bombardment. Making this announcement last evening, the Minister- for National Service, Mr. Semple, said that owing to its isolation this country need not expect , a degree of enemy attack comparable with .that to which England is being subjected, but ordinary prudence dictated that it was essential to prepare for possible air raids or bombardment by enemy raiders which were known to be in the Pacific. In such an eventuality the fire ‘fighting forces and the emergency precautions organization generally would constitute the first line of defence.

Mr. Semple said the matter had been under action for some time. After considering reports by officers of the defence services and of a technical committee consisting of the senior fire brigade superintendents, the Govern-, ment decided to meet the position by establishing (in terms of regulations published yesterday) an Emergency Fire Service as a branch of the Emer.gency Reserve Corps which comprises the home defence forces of the Dominion' under civil control. A Uniformed Force. "In the original Emergency Precautions Scheme provision is made for each organization to establish its own auxiliary fire-fighting squads,” said the Minister, “but it has been found in practice, particularly in the larger centres, that owing to the hazardous nature of the work and the inevitable damage to private clothing it has uot been possible to recruit a sufficient number of men to ensure effective protection. The Government, therefore, decided to make the work more attractive by providing uniforms, by paying the men for their services, and providing for pensions and. allowances on the same basis as members of the Territorial Forces. As a set-off against these concessions the members of the E.F.S. will be subjected to strict discipline in accordance with specified conditions of service which have now been gazetted, and by a series of nightly and weekend parades they will be required to undergo a period of intensive training to make them efficient in the shortest possible time. “The personnel of this new force, which will consist of;about 2000 men, will be recruited from suitable men who are-drawn in the ballot and who for any reason are not likely to be released for service with the armed forces for some time. An appeal will also be made to married men, as they are not likely to be called for military service in the near future. Thus the E.F.S. will provide an avenue for alternative service and will be so constituted that its efficiency, once attained, will remain'fairly. constant. Administration of Force. “Subject to direction by the Minister of National Service the Force will be administered by the Dominion Fire Controller in the person of Mr. R. Girling Butcher, Inspector pf Fire Brigades. For administration purposes the. Dominion will be Divided into four ‘commands’ with headquarters at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin respectively. In each command there will be appointed a District Fire Controller who will be responsible for the training and organization of the service throughout his district and for the allocation of personnel and Government equipment as occasion demands. Provision ns also made in the regulations for the appointment of other officers to ensure the efficient administration and training of the service.

“The Government will meet not only the cost of paying and uniforming the personnel of the' Emergency Fire Service, but also the cost of the necessary equipment, which will consist mainly of additional fire pumps and large diameter fire hose for overland operation. Some 62 trailer unit pumps similar to those being used in Great Britain are at present being manufactured in the Dominion. Enrolment of Patrols.

•Tn addition to the establishment by the Government of this Emergency lire Service, the local authorities and fire boards in all the principal towns of the Dominion are strengthening their fire brigades by enrolling volunteer firemen and fire patrols. Experience in Great Britain has shown the necessity for prompt action in dealing with incendiary bombs, and to meet this eventuality all the. principal fire authorities are recruiting a volunteer mobile fire patrol force which will consist of a large number of units of two men with motpr-car equipped . with bucket pump and length of half-inch hose with spray nozzle. “In those towns where the emergency fire brigades' are being developed purely on a. (voluntary basis under the local Emergency Precautions Organization, arrangements are being made to provide the men with uniforms, and as members of that organization they will be covered against injury or death sustained during training or service to the same extent as are of the armed forces.

“It will be seen, therefore,” concluded the Minister, “that for men who are physically fit, and who for any reason cannot serve with the armed forces, there are opportunities to perform active war work in all branches of this most important defensive organization, and I appeal to Them to offer their services to the superintendent of the local fire brigade.”