SMART AND EFFICIENT

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 148, 27 June 1929, Page 9

SMART AND EFFICIENT

FIRE BRIGADE WORK

AN INTERESTING AFTERNOON

Apart from, seeing water played the majority of people whose acquaintance with a Fire Brigade rests with seeing the brigade in action at a fire, little realises the aetnal extent and nature of the work which the brigade is called upon to do. As long as the brigade adequately copes with the circumstances of the moment then that is about all the average man cares about. Of the multifarious duties which make for success and the amount of practice which is required to efficiently carry out these dutiee ho knows little or nothing. Thus it was not surprising to notice expressions akin to wonder on many faces when the Wellington .Fire Brigade yesterday gave a demonstration of general brigade work before a number of invited guests, who included representatives of the City Council, Fire Board, insurance companies, and other bodies. From the spick and span station with its highly polished engines and fittings (a state of affairs which may be seen any day of the week) to the smartly-turned-out body of men who comprise the Brigade's personnel, and who went through their work with machine-like precision and a noticeable' lack of ostentatious bustle, the demonstration reflected the greatest credit on those concerned.

The afternoon's programme, which was carried out under the direction of Station Officer Leadbrook, opened with the Tilling-Stevens telescope ladder being run up against the tower in the yard, and that the toman's job is no sinecure waa shown when two of the men acted as patients and were "rescued" from ihe top of the tower. The rescuers slung the patients over their shoulders an 4 came down from the dizzy heights backwards at a speed faster than most people would go up a ladder. The saving of human life is, of course, the most important part of a fireman's duty and in many cases a ladder is not available, or, if it is, it cannot be placed in position. The fireman is nothing, however, if not resourceful, and he has two other means of rescuing people from a burning building. In 6ne of these a chair knot is made .at the end of a rope line and in. the cradle thus formed; the person being rescued is placed so securely that therel is- no possibility of even an unconscious person falling out. The other end of the line is then used for hauling. The last and most dangerous method of escape from a burning building is by means of a jumping sheet, and even then, as Mr. Leadbrook put-it ; "you have.ho guarantee that you will arrive at the bottom safely." The members of the Brigade then proceeded to demonstrate the other branches of their work, giving those present an idea of how to apply artificial respiration to people overcome by smoke or electric shock; the manner in which they pick up a person to carry him down a ladder; the use of smoke helmets; escalating, which is the art of scaling objects without the use of a ladder; the use of the correct hand extinguishers for the various types of fire; and hose work, in which the big Dennis pump, which can pump about 800 gallons of water a-minute, played a prominent part. CHEQUE FOB THE AMBULANCE. Just before the concluding item the chairman of the Wellington Firo Board (Mr. Nelson) asked the Mayor to present to Mr. C. J. B. Norwood, as representating the Wellington Free Ambulance, a cheque from the Fire Brigade. Mr. Nelson said that in many cities the fire brigade and the ambulance were controlled by the one board. In Wellington this was not so, but it was sufficient for him to say that the Brigade recognised what a great blessing and boon the Ambulance was to the citizens. It was for this reason that when the Ambulance was started the Brigade promptly set out to do what it could for it, and the results had been very gratifying to the Brigade and to the Ambulance. Last year the Brigade by its efforts had been able to present to the Ambulance a cheque for £200 and in April of this year a "joy night" was held, with the result that he was now asking the

Mayor to preseat to tlie Ambulance a cheque for £107 7s 2d. Before doing so, however, he would like to express the Fire Board's thanks to the Press and to those firms who had assisted the Board in this direction and also to the Mayor, not only for his attendance at, the "joy night," but also for the great assistance he had given to the superintendent and members of the Brigade.

Before presenting the cheque, the Mayor said that he would, .first of all, like to compliment the superintendent and men of the Tire Brigade on the excellent display they had given. The efficiency had been most marked; and all who had looked on must have been very- pleased and highly edified by what they saw. They had seen things that afternoon that they tad never thought 'of before. It was a pleasing episode to be able to present the cheque to Mr. Norwood on behalf of the Free Ambulance, for the Ambulance, as far as New Zealand was concerned, was a creation of Mr. Norwood's. As far as the work of the Free Ambulance went, there could be no two opinions and no difference of opinion. The Ambulance had come to stay, because it was the will of the people that it should stay as long as it showed the same efficiency in the future as it had shown in the past, and of that he had no doubt.

Mr. Norwood said that the Ambulance was deeply indebted to the Fire Brigade and Board in many ways. Ever-since the inception of the Ambulance service, the Brigade and the Ambulance had fought side by side. Mr. Norwood also complimented the Brigade on the efficiency shown that afternoon, and he said it was a matter of great moment that it should be efficient. No wonder the men got about as they did when they went through all the practices and healthgiving exercises that they had done before those present. Mr. Norwood also paid a compliment to the superintendents of the Fire Brigade and the Ambulance, who he said were an acquisition to the city. On behalf of the Brigade and tho Fire Police, Mr. Nelson t then. presented the Mayor with a cheque for £10 10s as the first instalment for the relief of sufferers from the recent earthquake. He commended the men for. coming forward in such a manner.

A highly interesting and instructive afternoon was brought to a spectacular conclusion when the Brigade gave a general turn out. At the first sound of the alarm the man slid down poles, manned the engines and drove out of the doors and the block. From the time the alarm was given until the first engine'was going out of the doors was about 20 seconds.