FIRE BRIGADES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 28 November 1924, Page 3

FIRE BRIGADES.

ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE. CONFERENCE IN HAW ERA. . The executive of. the .IJnited Fire Brigades Association of New Zealand sat m conference at the, Hawera. Fire Station 011 .Wednesday aiid Thursday.. Present: Superintendent A. liorrison' (president), bupe'ri’ntehdent. \V. Barnard (immediate past president), S.uperintendnet C. vVarner (senior vice-presi-dent), Superintendent .T. Anderson (junior vice-president), Advisory Superintendent T. J. Watts (secretary of the Association), C. A. Osborne (treasurer of the Association). The following extracts frpm tlie advisory .'superintendent’s report were fully discussed-. -.. , . .. . “It is quite obvious that a number of ; our. local bodies .are apparently indifferent to , thenature of,, the . fire prevention.. equipment and .the., .state of efficiency of the local ,fire brigade, and this association,, should to awakeii a proper sense of responsibility in these cases. The conditions appertaining to this Dominion .-with such a large, number of small isolated towns do not lend themselves to the establishment of permanent paid brigades, and. consequently it behoves the local body to give bvefy encouragement to those good citizens who join our brigades and cheerfully give up thejr time to practising to make themselves efficient and turn out at any time, diiy or night, to protect the Jives and property of their fellow citizens. “If the members of our. local bodies would give a, ylittle serious; thought to these matters,, they. . would undoubtedly have a, far better knowledge of the good work done by their brigades, and equipment required to keep up to the standard of efficiency in our calling, calling. “Proper education on the subject of fire prevention is .quite a .long way from the general p.ublic, and, it is our bbunden duty to tty and, reniedy this state of affairs. The more the public are educated, .thei easier becomes file duties ,of the fire brigades. It is. quite tiffie .that. fire drill and. instruction on fire preyentibfi were added to the cu.i> ricula, of all our schools and also taught in any - large manufacturing . - firms where there are a number of employees. It, should be the aim .of , this association to have our members trained ip such manner that they will , be capable this,-instruction to all in need ,'pf same,. : . To bring this about is a matter that requires the immediate serious copsideratjon of this body, and I would suggest thaf , a small comttee - o responsible, officers of this* association should confer with Inspector Hugo, and draw lip some scheme on these lines. . ...

Officers of Brigades,—The discipline and efficiency of brigades; depend primarily upon the, .chief officer of the brigade, .with the loyal .co-operation of his subordinate, officers. Fire prevent)on to-day is .recognised as .a most iiuportant brancli of civic , life, .and officers of brigades. slioiild fake every opportunity of fitting themselves for their Positions. ...Whilst'*-, all . officers cannot be expected to have a great deal of knowledge of hydraulics, they should Luoav the details of. their own .\yater reticulation and be able to use same to best . advantage. I am a firm believer in the regular station instruction of all members, on the reticulation system, and consider the complete plan of same should be kept in every fire station, and used as a means of education. Ihe co-operation of borough water officials should be encouraged, and any alterations and additions to the system promptly .indicated 'should also make themselves well acquainted with all public buildings, and any. large buildings that, ..present., any problem from a fire-fighting point of view. In most cases the local body looks to the chief officer for advice oil all matters appertaining to fire prevention in the- and he should endeavoui* to make himself competent to render, the seryice requpired. It may be, possible, in the near future to. bring out aii officer’s boot bf instruction, but it reqiiires very careful peroration. standardisation of Street Hydrants' Wi^Wingg*-—This, matter is still one requiring immediate, attention, particularly with the new towns rising iii the Dominibn. A nunibei* of business linns take every opportunity of drop°ld. stock of fittings on to che new towns, aiid some standardisation is urgently required. The superannuation of fireman and compulsory assurance were also discussed, aiul certain lines of action adopted. IMPROVED METHODS ADVOCATE!). . ,-Q P 9. .$■ e ,Pf°St . important, matters discussed at the conference was for a more improved system and means of educating the general public in the needs of fire prevention. It whs fin- . Y- decided that the .advisory superCaptain T. J. ,Watts, of the U.r.B.A of ISew Zealand, confer with Cc.ptam T.NT. Hugo, Government Injector .of Fire, Brigades. . Subjects for reference include compulsory fire drill m schools, all public institutioiis and factor les. The conference also stressed the need tor uniform sefs of fire prevention bylaws, standardisation of all fire brigade equipment, and efficient water supplies and reticulation.