THE FIREMAN.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12497, 25 March 1909, Page 1

THE FIREMAN.

The rush of a modern fire brigado to the point of danger is one of the thrilling sights of the world, is possibly the most thrilling sight in the world for men. •'' To stifle fire newborn is the aim of the fireman, fie -works willing enough at the stifling, because whether he succeeds, in this or not he must work until the red glare in the sky fades away, until there is nothing left to do but to keep sentry-go over the smou]dering ashes of a -conquered Fire. Did you ever bear of firemen agitating for Eight Hours? You will when you hear of sailors and soldiers claiming 'Eight Hours in.- time of storm and battle, of doctors demanding it in time of pestilence, of mothers telling their sick babies that somebody else is on duty. The firemen has to save the town if he works Eight Days on end. He may fall at his post through sheer exhaustion, but if cold water outside and brandy inside will set him on his feet he will stagger back to work and 'work till he drops again. That is what the sailor has to do when the storm is' raging and the ship depends upon the skill of the captain and upon the tiained courage of the men, through whom the captain works. Ihis ' is what the soldier has to do when victory sways in the balance, and the fate of a nation depends upon every blow. And thus the fireman must do when Fire roars against a city and the Brigade throws itself in front to . fight for ten thousand homes. We want a "History of the Fireman" to show us what lie really does for us by narrating the great battles he has fought, and the wonderful fighting he has done. In London and ia Ottawa, in Philadelphia, arid in Chicago and in San Francisco, he has made history. In Sydney in Capetown, and here m Auckland, ne has wrought great deeds There is not a civilised city which does not owe its existence to the fire brigade, for without the fireman it would long ago have become a heap of ashes, and the firemen is never beaten. Fire may dev'oiir blocks and districts, may slay its victims by the score and daunt the courage of a whole population, but the trained firemen figlns on.Driven from one" house he defends the next; swept from one block he- rallies on another ; when gigantic flames leap wide roads he brings dynamite to the aid of water and makes wastes which Fire cannot cross. Always he fights on. Never has he withdrawn from a battle and left the city that trusted him to the mercy of the flames.— Tohunga in the "New Zealand Herald."