FIRES AT INGLEWOOD

Taranaki Daily News, 16 January 1935, Page 2

FIRES AT INGLEWOOD

WORK OF VOLUNTEER BRIGADE. EIGHT CALLS DURING YEAR. There could be no doubt that some of the fires were of incendiary origin, said Superintendent E. Crossman, when reporting to the annual meeting of the Inglewood Volunteer Fire Brigade that there had been eight calls during the year. The most serious fire was in an empty house in Standish Street, the insurance loss being £230. There was no insurance on any of the other buildings affected. Superintendent Crossman presided over a good attendance of members, honorary members and residents of the town. The attendances of members at fires, practices and meetings had been excellent, he paid. The following were the individual attendances, the total number of musters being 52: Fireman W. Devereux 52, Superintendent Crossman 51, De-puty-Superintendent C. Reed 51, Fireman Longstaff 51, Foreman A. Reesby 50, Fireman B. Evetts 50, Secretary T. Lindsay 49, Fireman Nixon 49, Fireman Julian 48, Fireman L. King 48, Fireman V. King 48, Foreman V, Devereux 45, Fireman R. Crossman 45, Fireman G. Barry 43, Fireman R. O’Keefe 32, and Fireman A. Gillice 27. All the gear was in first-class order. Three hundred feet of new hose would be required to replace wastage. The thanks of the brigade were extended to the fire police for the way they carried out their duties at all fires. The Mayor would appoint and swear them in for the ensuing year. One claim for insurance was made, Fireman Nixon having broken a rib while on duty. The superintendent said 1)2 had attended the annual conference of the United Fire Brigades’ Association at Hamilton. A great deal of work was done in the interests of fire service in the Dominion. He also attended the Taranaki district conference. SERVICE BARS EARNED. The following honours were earned by members of the brigade during the year: Fireman W. Devereux, gold bar for completing 27 years of service; Superintendent E. Crossman, bar for 19 years of service; Deputy-Superintendent C. Reed, bar for 15 years of sei-vice; Foreman A. Reesby, bar for seven years of service; Fireman L. King, silver medal for five years of service. The thanks of the brigade were extended to the Inglewood Borough Council, the Press and the honorary members for their help. The balance-sheet of the general account showed that the year was started with a credit of £72 19s 3d. Receipts were: Borough subsidy £5O, town hall duties £l9 Is, borough donation £2, sundries £1 6s, a total of £145 6s 3d. Expenditure totalled £7B Os lid, leaving a credit of £66 Ils 3d. The social account, which commenced the year with a credit of £24 16s 9d, showed receipts totalling £44 7s 2d making a total of £69 13s lid. The expediture amounted to £55 13s 9d, leaving a credit of £l4 0s 2d. The election of officers resulted as follows: Superintendent, Mr. E. Crossman; deputy-superintendent, Mr. C. Reed; foreman, Mr. J. Reesby; deputy-foreman, Mr. V. Devereux; secretary and treasurer, Mr. T. Lindsay. The Mayor (Mr. J. Gibbs) presented the service bars and congratulated the recipients. Superintendent Crossman said that although it was 19 years since he joined the brigade he would be only too willing to serve another 19 years, for the brigade had always been treated very fairly by the Borough’ Council and the public. Deputy-Foreman V. Devereux and Fireman L. King endorsed the superintendent’s remarks. Superintendent Crossman stated that although Fireman L. King was receiving his medal for five years’ servise he had really completed seven years but part of the time he had been a messenger. Regarding Deputy-Superintendent Reed’s 15 years of service, Secretary T. Lindsay said that had Mr. Reed been able to remain at Inglewood all the time he would have completed 28 years of service. Messrs. C. List, F. Spurdie, N. King and J. Bumip were sworn in by the Mayor as the fire police for the ensuing year. TOAST LIST HONOURED. In proposing the toast of the Borough Council Deputy-Superintendent Reed said the council had always treated the brigade very fairly. In responding to the toast the Mayor congratulated the brigade on its selection of officers for the year. During the year the insurance loss on fires had only been £230, which was a great credit to the brigade, he said. It was the first time for a number of years that there had been any loss. He thought all the insurance companies should support the brigade. The DeputyMayor, Mr. F. Spurdie, commended Fireman W. Devereux for remaining with the brigade for 27 years, a fact that indicated enthusiastic interest in the work of the brigade. “The Fire Brigade” was proposed by the Mayor. Although the Inglewoodbrigade was a volunteer brigade, he said, he was certain there was not another brigade that carried out its duties with such enthusiasm. The superintendent and deputy-superintendent thanked the Mayor for his commendation of the brigade. The toast of the “Fire Police” was proposed by Superintendent Crossman, who said that there were only about 20 brigades in New Zealand with fire police auxiliaries. During a fire the brigade did not have to worry about spectators being in the way because the fire police kept the area clear. Mr. Burnip, responding, congratulated members of the public .on their behaviour at fires. Messrs. N. King and F. Spurdie endorsed Mr. Burnip’s remarks. . • In responding to the toast of the visitors, proposed by Secretary Lindsay, Mr. R. B. Sutton suggested the brigade should ask the council to move the fire siren from the hall to a more central position, perhaps on the band rotunda. He thought that in its present position the siren was hard to hear. He congratulated the brigade on its efficiency. Mr. J. Penn also responded. Other toasts honoured were: ‘The Press” (Foreman Reesby), “Honorary Members” (Superintendent Crossman — Messrs. Henry and Fawcett), “The Ladies” (the Mayor—Fireman Devereux and Mr. Ross).