BRITAIN'S FIRE SERVICES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24630, 11 June 1941, Page 5

BRITAIN'S FIRE SERVICES

COUNCIL TO BE SET UP REORGANISATION SCHEME RUGBY, June 9. Britain's fire-fighting organisation is to be reconstituted and centralised under a new Ministry of Home Security scheme. A Fire Service Council, is to be set up, of which Mr Herbert Morrison will be chairman. Commander A. N. G. Firebiace, chief officer of the London Fire Brigade, will be chief of the fire staff and inspector-in-chief of the fire services. A staff college for training senior officers will be established. In place of the existing 1400 local fire brigades, there will be 32 fire forces in England and Wales, plus others to be settled in the London region. Each force will be made up by combining in relatively large geographical areas the regular and auxiliary personnel in the present fire brigades. In some cases as many as 32 to 45 of the present brigades Will go to make up one of the new fire forces, and each of the forces will be under the command of an officer known as a fire force commander. The supervision of the fire forces in each civil defence region.will be in the hands of a regional.commissioner, and fire force commanders in the larger areas will have deputies. There are to be staff and technical officers for such work as water supplies, control of transport communications, stores, and so ou.