OUR FIRE BRIGADE.

Evening Star, Issue 12883, 4 August 1906, Page 8

OUR FIRE BRIGADE.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,—Your recent articles about thedtv Fire Brigade and their requirements have bad some effect in waking up the City Council re their duty to the City and firemen. But why the' City Council do not go the whole hog and be done with it is past comprehension. The idea of calling for tenders for sanitary arrangements at the station is just another specimen of the tinpot way a majority of the councillors transact the business of tbe City anr] a mere waste of money. What effect will sanitary arrangements have in providing facilities for housing the plait and turning out smarmy to a fire or doing the needful when there? A" pointed out by you, the station ie obsolete, and a standing disgrace to whoever designed it for a fire station. The City has giown considerably this last twenty years, but no provision has been made for the firemen to cope with this increased responsibility. Perhaps our new town clerk, who is progressive if nothing else, will impart some useful and m'xlem ideas about fire brigades to our stay-at-home councillors who never have been further than the City's limits, and can't see the why and wherefore of keeping abrea-st of the times. The Council as a whole admit that the station is out of date (after you pointed it out to them), but there :s no money for any additional vorks just now. The same old cock-and-bull yarn is trotted out • finances won't stand it. Finances won't stand £12,000 for a new fire station, but they will stand £15,000 for a few acres of ground that are too far out to be of any practical use to the City. Art galleries and such like can all get their quota, but finance won't stand it when it comes to providing the City with practical rerquirement6. What about the other centres? Do they spend money on fire brigades for the mere sake of show and spending meney? No, they are fully; alive to the necessity of keeping a fire brigade np to date, and know by experience that it is money well spent. Take Wellington, for instance. A few years ago they were in the same box as Dunedin, but the large loss of life and property in Cuba street taught them a lesson that they won't forget in a hurry, and immediately after they set about providing the firemen with a new station and new equipment. A new station was built at a cost of about £12.000, with all the latest appliances for smart turnouts. Now, I noticed a graph in the ' Star' the other night saying that they were going to s-pend another £4,000, "making about £17,000 in about seven years. The total annual maintenance cost is about £4,300. The number of firemen is about ten permanent and twenty auxiliary. Compare this with our local brigade, and you will see the disadvantages our men have to contend with. In this City the councillors consider the brigade a dear item at £1,400 a year. The manner in which the Wellington Brigade turn out puts our men in the shade,, but otherwise the local men have nothing to learn, as the delay in getting ready for a fire rests with the Council, who are too short-sighted to see the benefits derived from smart turn-outs and rapid means of proceeding to a fire. What else can you expect, when you hear a councillor express the opinion that the plant was good enough, and they should proceed more slowly to a fire. It is on a par with a statement the same councillor made about our tram conductors. The whole world over the first consideration, where a fire brigade is concerned, is time, as the first few minutes at a fire generally means the difference of what was and what mijht have been. Motor engines and hose reels are replacing horses in small as well as large centres. Wanganui has had a motor engine for some years, and has now ordered a motor hose reel. Wellington has also ordered a motor hose reel, and it is about time we possessed something of that sort, instead of knocking horseflesh about in this hilly place. The officers and men here are the lowest paid of any centre, which ought to be the reverse, if the good work rendered by them were taken into account, and the generous donations received by the brigade from business firms after a fire are any criterion. The chief officer is paid the same salary as some of the Corporation officials, wno have no responsibility, and work about eight hours a day, whereas the other man does his twenty-four hours a day all the year round, and is never done. The men are in the same box, with the addition that they have to leave their employment in the day time, for which they receive £2O a year, which some years won't pay for time lo?t and private clothes spoilt. It is about time the Council looked after the City's wants, instead of donating retiring allowances and buying useless parks. Hoping the matter will not be lost a™, etc, Up-to-date. August 4.