FIRE BRIGADE DEMONSTRATION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5494, 17 December 1885, Page 4

FIRE BRIGADE DEMONSTRATION.

The members of our Fire Brigades are not usually in the habit of playing with fire. To them the destroying element is generally a foe to be combated with all the force at their disposal. Once a year, however, they seem to relax in their stern antagonism, and to have a little sport with . their ancient enemy, albeit in the compara- | tively harmless and inoffensive form of j torches and fireworks. The occasion of ! this annual festivity has for years past j been the evening of Anniversary Day, and : last night was no exception to the rule. , The demonstration this year took the form lof a procession, which, starting from } Chester street station with all the bravery of torches and transparencies, music and fireworks, paraded the streets of the city from Salisbury street on the North to the South Belt, and finished at the station in Lichfield street, soon, according to the decree of the City Council, to be abolished. 9 p.m. was the time fixed for the starting of the procession, and as that hour approached the vicinity of the Chester street station was packed with a dense and continually-increasing throng. The glare of torches and lanterns, and a very perceptible smell of sulphur, showed that the firemen were busy preparing for theirfcte. Their gaily-decorated engines, each drawn by four fine horses, were soon in position in front of the station, surrounded by the men who know so well how to use them. The members of various visiting Brigades were marshalled in order, the Garrison Band arrived and took up its station at the head of the cortege, and with commendable punctuality the start was made. Immediately following the Band came the chemical engine, very tastefully bedecked with a floral arch and numerous bannerettes. The men of the Eangiora and Kaiapoi Brigades marched behind it, the former under Foreman Jones, and the latter under Foreman Brightling. The steamer Extinguisher came next, adorned with transparencies most gorgeous to behold. Besides the firemen, there rode on this engine an individual of fearful appearance, smart of limb, grim of visage, and armed with a three-pronged weapon, with which he stirred the contents of a cauldron emitting blue and sulphurous flames. The Railway and Lyttelton Brigades succeeded the Extinguisher, under the command, respectively, of Superintendents Ashley and Derbidge. The steamer Deluge, which closed the procession, was noticeable for the team of magnificent greys which drew it. The engine itself, festooned with greenery, flowers, and wreaths of gaycoloured paper, and hung with large Chinese lanterns, presented a most effective appearance. Coloured fires, burned continuously on the engines, cast a vivid glare over the striking scene, and caused the flaring torches to look quite dull and smoky. Showers of golden rain were poured forth on all sides, and — but this was a portion of the display not under the control of the Brigade — an irregular fusillade of crackers was kept up along the route, chiefly through the misdirected energy of the omnipresent small boy. The streets were so densely thronged with spectators that at times locomotion was a slow and difficult matter. The crowd was orderly and good humoured — as a Christchurch crowd always is — and the progress of the procession from start to finish was unmarred by accident. After its conclusion the members of the Christchurch and visiting brigades, and of the band, assembled in the library at the Lichfield street station and drank one another's healths with the utmost cordiality. The firemen taking part in the procession numbered between 80 and 90.