THE CITY FIRE BRIGADE.

Evening Star, Issue 8776, 17 March 1892, Page 4

THE CITY FIRE BRIGADE.

THE BRIGA'DE TO BE DISBANDED.

At last night’s meeting of the City Council the following report of the General Committee with regard to the City Fire Brigade was read

Yout Committee have the honor to report having hid under their consideration tho letter of Messrs F. 8., N., C.8., and A.M., asking for an inquhy into the causo of tholr di'-missal from tho otigvde, and tbit they had exhaustively considered tho reasons wlUch induced the superintendent of the Fire Brigade to dismiss them.

At their first meeting your Committee requested the superintendent to state definitely the charges he had to make against tho men, which he did as follows

Mr F. 15. was charged : (1) With being continually under tho influence of drink at all meetings of the brigade and practicer. (2) With having on the night of the 15th January, iu company with Fireman N. (Doth being iu uniform and off duty), been engaged in a drunken brawl, and helping a drunken man named home. Fireman N. was charged: (I) With getting into debt with a man who was continually coming to the stiti >n at night dunning him for payment. (2) That when at lirea ho shirked his work, and that he had bt.-n eontinuallv c.’.aliened about it. {') With being cm aged .»i tho night of tho 15th January in a drunken brawl in George street in uniform when off duiv. A.M. was charged : (I) With frequently coming to the station at night in a drunken state. C.B. was charged; (I) With attending at two fires In private clothes, and not going to work when there. (2) That on two occasions ho left a fire without permission to have a drink.

With regard to F.U., at the second mooting of tho Committor, when the chargei against him w-re about being gone into, Superintendent Robertson uurcsem'dly withdrew the charge of drunkenness, stating that ho had made a mUtako i.i making that charge ; and in reply to the question as to what grounds ho had fur making the charge, he said he did so because 15. had a red face, audhe thought it was caused through drink. As to being mixed up in a drunken brawl in George street whilst iu uniform, the facts are these, which were most clearly proved before your Committee: —15. with N. had been (hat night on duty at the theatre. Leaving there at a "quarter-past eleven, they proceeded down I'riuces street, and stopped on the way at a Logo!, remaining there for about half an hour. On leaving and reaching tho Octagon they there dot an intimate friend named , who was very diuuk and in capable, end they though; it advisable to take him to his home, which was at tho corner of St. Andrew street. This took them about half an hour, which made tho tlmo of arrival there neatly 12.50 a.m. To bo Iu •uniform when oil duty for an unnecessary length of time lean offence against the rules of the brigade, punishable either by fine or u.scr'.lhal, at the option of cho superintends;; and, in order to prove the offence, 1; was necessary to show that tho time occupied by the men iu taking their friend hvino was longer than was necessary to go the short distance, and tho superintendent produe ui tho evidence if a constable and Fort man V/hceler that the time ac winch they reached ‘lt. Andrew struct w:u 1.130, and not 12.30, which, If tine, wou’d have indicated that tho men must have stayed somewhere (the inference being in a public-hcuie) for the space of one hour, which would have been a serious matter, and a decided and grave breach of tho rules. Rebutting evidence, however, of a most positive and satisfactory character was given, which left no doubt upou the minds of your Committee that tho correct hour was 12.30, and not 130, and that tho einstable and Foreman V/ncolcr give incorrect evidence, whether designedly cr by mistake they cannot say. Evidence was givm that both the firemen wore perfectly sober.

With regard to N,, tho charge of getting into d;bt, your Committee considered they had nothing to do wiffi, it net being a broach of the rules ; aud tho charge tf shirking work at fires was uoc proved, while as to the drunken brawl, aud bji: g in uniform when olf duty, the remarks made in B.’a case equally apply to ihij.

As to A.M.’s case, your Committee consider the charge of coming drunk to tho station on several occasions to bo proved, but the rules provide for fining and b.dng cautioned, aud tho superintendent admitted that although ho knew of this matter he never cautioned or fined M. In all other respects this man was admitted to be an excellent fireman.

Iu C.B.’a case It was admitted by him that bo had attended two fires iu p’ain clothes, but it was satisfactorily explained how this occurred, and besides it is not an o (fence against the rules. As to not working when present on these occasions, B, admits that at one fire he el id not go to work, and gives as his reason that ho was not told to do so, and that the fire was nearly out when ho arrived. (O. B, is an auxiliary and not an active fireman.) On the other occasion it was proved to the satisfaction of your Committee that ho did go to work, although tho superintendent has declined to recognise tho fact or to pay the man for his time. In reference to leaving a fire on two occasions before tho men were dismissed, without permission, to get adiink, B. admits that at the 'Globe' fire he did so, but alleges (which was not contradicted) that the fire was then euucgaished, and aim that ho was then a new member and was not sufficiently acquainted vita the rule applicable to this offence. Tho other occasion was at tho recent fire iu Canongate, but as the superintendent refuses to admit that he was at work at this fire, your Committee cannot see how he can prefer a charge of leaving the fire to get a drink without leave. Tho Committee, however, desire to say that they consider this a serious oifeccs, and one that should bo visited by fine and severe repiircand. After tho mo it careful consideration of the whole case your Committee can come to no other conclusion than that Superintendent riobertson, iu dismissing these men from tho brigade (with the exception of M.), has done so without any just cause or suiii.-icnt reasons ; that he ha; made serious charger against them (particularly in tho ca.-e of F.E.) iu a most reckless and unjustifiable manner, for to charge a man with being drunk at all meetings and pivctioes of the brigade simply because Nature had provided him with a red face appears to your Committee to be a most extraordinary act; and with regard to the other men (except if.), the chirgos were frivolous, and oven if proved diet rut certainly justify ao serious a step as dism'ssal, and particularly without con- ■ ■ultiug the Council's Committee, who have charge of this department; and your Committee feel warranted iu saying tint Superintendent Fobertouu’s conduct certainly shows that he is not a proper person to ba in command cf such a body of men as the fire brigade. Even ia M.’s case, thu man admittedly being an excellent fireman, it would have been more prudent on the part of the superintendent to have first cautioned* before dismissing him. This being the opinion ycur Ct remittee, the question they had to con jiil.r was what recommendation they should make to tho Council, and this ha? given them much anxious thought. It ia quite evident to i.rern that the brigade is not a happy family. That there are elements there of considerable discord cannot be doubted. If, then, the Committee were to recommend the Council to .ancol tho dismissal of these men and reinstate them in their former position (which; pending die decision of tho Council, your Committee nave already done), which, in justice to them they must do, then it would bo a serious, though deserved, reflection upon tho superintendent, and could not fail in totally destroying his already weakened prestige, and would undoubtedly Increase and develop the rancorous feeling aiready existing, which again would in .11 probability destroy tho usefulness of the brigade to the pobi.e. \our Committee, therefore, have come to the conclusion ; o i .commend the Council to give the brigade, including the superintendent, a month’s notice of disbandment, and that applications be immediately called for tho position of superintendent of the brigade. In doing so, your Committee feel assured it i i tho only course to adopt if the Council desire rhat in tho future the City shall have a thoroughly efficient brigade. The Mayob moved the adoption of the report. Cr Fish, in seconding the motion, said the Committee came to the conclusion that they had como to after very mature and serious consideration. They felt, in advising the Council to take tho step they had, that they were taking from a person who iiad been in the employ of the Corporation fur a considerable length of time a very lucrative situation, but they also felt that if he were allowed to continue in that situation it could only be at the peril of the usefulness of tho brigade. The only alternative course was to disbond the whole brigade and have it re-formed. To go on under present circumstances meant that within six cr eight months another complaint would probably como before the Council, and there would be tho same thing to ;,o over again. Tho charges against tho firemen were of a most serious character, and nothing struck him with greater surprise in all his life than to hear one man charge another with continually appearing drunk, and then calmly expressing a desire to withdraw the charge. When Mr Robertson was asked why he made such a charge in the first instance, he simply said because the man had got a red face; and when asked if that was the only ground on which he made the charge, he replied "Yes.” What belief, then, could be ask tho Council to have in him as tho superintendent of a body of men in whose care the life aud property of citizens

were vested, when he could thus recklessly make a serious charge like that to which he (the speaker) had alluded. He (Cr Fish) proceeded to say that the young men against whom the charges had been made wore really the very flower of youth. Their physique was superior to that of any member of the Council. They were excellent specimens of men—strong, healthy, active, Cr Solomon : Well conducted.

Cr Fjsh : Ye?, so far as I know; and they were the sort of men that ought to be useful and efficient as tiremon. Well, under these circumstances, what could wo do other thau wo have done ? and I trust that tho Council will bo as unanimous as tho Committee iu their desire to effect a change that I feel sure is necessary. Cr Solomon : I regret very much that I shall bo compelled to vote for the adoption of this report, I have kuowu Superintendent Robertson for twenty-five or thirty years, and I am very sony indeed that tho Council are compelled to adopt tho report and dispense with his services; but I don’t see how they can arrive at any other decision. The first thing tho Council have to consider is the efficiency of tho brigade. Cr Barron said as a member of tho G encral Committee who was unable to attend the meetings he thought it was his duty to say that he entirely endorsed the report, and considered from the evidence brought before the Committee that they could not come to any other conclusion than they had. It seemed to him that tho brigade had become disorganised, and that discipline was out of the question. Cr Toomey had no hesitation in saying that tho recommendation of the Committee was what it ought to be. The men whom tho superintendent wanted to dismiss had, to his own knowledge, nothing to equal them iu tho brigade. They were sober men, and had everything in their favor, but because they would not crawl to tho auperin tendent he wanted to dismiss them. Cr Solomon : There is no evidence of that.

The motion for tho adoption of the report was then put and carried unanimously. Cr Fish moved—“ That the town clerk give notice to tho superintendent and the brigade that tho brigade will be disbanded in one mouth from the 21st inst, ; and that bo also at once advertise for applications for the position of superintendent of the brigade, the applications to be referred to the General Committee. The motion was agreed to.