FIREMEN'S STATUS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 7, 21 September 1942, Page 5

FIREMEN'S STATUS

VITAL TO A COMMUNITY

QUESTION OF MILITARY SERVICE

"I consider that firemen both Brigade and Auxiliary are in effect carrying out work which can be called our first line of defence, and that their value is greater than if they were members of the Home Guard. For that reason I think that we should seek to get some definite ruling as to how Manpower Committeesi should deal with appeals for such men, in order to know

just where we stand." The above was stated by Mr M. Gumming (insurance representative) at the meeting of the Whakatane Fire Board last Friday evening. The previous ruling was that firemen had to have three years experience before they could he declared exempt from military training. Superintendent Stewart said it was probable that, after the next ballot lie would not be able to retain any of the Auxiliary Firemen, none of whom had the requisite term of. experience behind them, though they had reached a fairly high standard of efficiency. Mr Cummings-: Well what's the use of training them. It takes three months to make a man useful at all and if the army is going to take them, we are only wasting our time. The superintendent said the Brigade at present consisted of 14 Brigadesmen and 17 Auxiliaries.. The latter attended practice and also answered fires. The Board finally decided that a letter be despatched to the Minister of Internal Affairs recommending that Appeal Boards be instructed on how to regard the appeals for both Fire Brigademen and Auxiliar-t ies, the fact that it takes -three months to train a man and also the aggravation of the position by the system in vogue of. regional control.