THE FAMILIAR UNKNOWN.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14888, 30 January 1914, Page 5

THE FAMILIAR UNKNOWN.

_♦_ "The most familiar object & often the le«et known." - (By "The Watchman.") (eriCIAU,T WRITTBX FOR ,4 THI FRXS».") No. 44. FIRE GOVERNANCE. The volunteer brigade era possessed a picturesqueness. as I showed on featurtlay, as -well as an enthusiasm ana a record of good work accomplished. The enthueiastic amateur has been more than replaced by the substitution of the professional giving his whole time and always preparing for, and waiting for, tho call (and in the matter of firesuppression seconds count), for tue amateur who, whatever hie enthusiasm, had his business calls to attend to. And then, there was the pressing call ot finance for ever worrying the Fire Brigades' Association that controlled the volunteer system. Tho change and the reasons for it are succinctly summarised in this memorandum of Mr •V L. Parsons, manager of the Aew Zealand Insurance and chairman of tho Christchnrch I , ire Boaid, which I asked him to write for me:— "The passing of tho Fire Brigade* | Act was almost entirely due to requests from the Firo Brigades' Association, owing to most of tho City and Borough Councils not giving their * iro Brigades j tho plant and accommodation they ! wanted and considered necessary for their efficiency. On the passing of the Act and tho constituting of tho various Boards which came into existence, it was found that in most cases considerable expenditure had to be made for plant and new stations. The result has been that the cost of fire-prevention in cities and boroughs which are governed by Fire Boards is considerably greater than when in the hands of the municipal authorities. The efficiency of such brigades is, however, much greater, as they are supplied with modern and efficient plant. Formerly, the work of the brigades was carried out largely by volunteers, but in all principal brigades controlled by Boards there are now a number of permanent men living on tho station and available day and night. This accounts for a good deal of the extra annual cost of the brigades. "In the old days it was necessary to ring tho firebell to call the volunteer members of the brigade from their work or their homes. With tho-whole staff residing on the station this is not now necessary—hence tho firebell is no longer heard in Christchurch." THE FIRE BOARD. Mr Parsons- adds:—"The constitution of tho Firo Board is one member appointed by the Government, three elected by the city, and three by the insurance- companies, and the necessary funds are provided—£2oo by the Government, balance equally by City Councils and insurance companies. Estimate is made in each year of probable expenditure, and on this being approvod by the Minister of Internal Affairs, levy is made as above, iv quarterly vpaymonts." The Christchurch - Fire Board . consists of Messrs H. R. Rusbridgo (Government representative). H. Holland, A. Williams, and "WV'H. Cooper (representing tho City Council), A. L. Parsons (chairman), W. B. McKenzie, and J. F. Grierson (representing insurance companies). Mr C. J. Treleaven is the secretary. 'The Board meets every second Tuesday in committee, and every second Friday in open meet.ing. Tho insurance representatives represent twenty-eeven companies doing business in Cliristchurch, and jointly in 1913 they contributed £4400 to "the total of £9000, which represents'the cost on the estimates of tho Brigade for . the year ending Juno 30th. 1914. The City Council finds a like sum and the Government jts £200. It is, as Mr Parsons points out, a bigger cost than under the.old system, but it has much more than saved itself in the increased efficiency resulting in the cutting down of fire losses. THE FIGHTING MEN. The Fire Board assumed charge on July Ist, 1907, but it was not till Ist, 1908, that it installed its first "permanent" fire-fighting staff. Tho brigade consists of twenty firemen and four officers.. The latter are Superintendent Warner,,- DeputySuperintendent Blake, Foremen Davis and Hazard, all at tho headquarters in Lichfiold street. Then there" , are the Sydenham and St. Albans stations, each with a foreman in'charge. There is also an "auxiliary" staff of twelve "partially paid" firemen. Itis usually, twenty. They receive a retainer of £20 per annum, and live in tho station, whore there are twentyseven men in residence, with four at Sydenham and five at St. Albans. Perhaps the most striking difference between the firemen of the new regime , and of the old is their youth. Instead of the m'aturo and be-medalled firemen, heroes of many a blaze and stars of many a competition,) whom oiio was wont to see in volunteer days, there aro now manning the stations chiefly young men in their early twenties. The volunteer firemen were usually tradesmen, and business men, many of them with large personal interosts in the town that they were helping to protect. Tho firemen of today ore largely young sailors. The world over, men with a sea training are esteemed the best material for fire-fighting—that for many reasons, including their liandiuess, their agility, and their amenability to discipline. The Superintendent was himself a sailor of wide sea experience. Ho was appointed to Christchurch while occupying a, similar position in the Palmerston North Fire Service. There, he came with credit through a literal "ordeal of fire," when the elusive, and now vanished Powclka fired tho town. Powelka fired two big places in the one night—one a mercery store in which ho outfitted himself while the jxjpulace was attracted to the burning of the High School a little out of tho town, which he had previously fired. And under cover of tho second fire he got away. There was a third fire at the same time, but whether he had anything to do with it is not clear. He said not. It was a coincidence. At any rate, those three practically simultaaeous fires, and a. whole series of fires that followed from emulators or folk anxious to avail. themselves of the opportunity wero a good test for a fire"superintendent's nerve, and the piesent Christchurch Superintendentcame well through it. At twelve, Mr Warner joined the Trinity House Navigation School for three years,, followed by five as an indentured apprentice at sea. And after serving this, ho put in another five years under sail and steam before coming ashore to ioin the Wellington Fire Brigade in 1303, rising through the grades steadily till his Palmerston appointment in 1908. The Deputy-Superintondent has been over fifteen years in tho Christchurch Brigade. WHAT FIREMEN GET. : Firemen get free rooms, light, bedding, and furniture, and their pay starts at two guineas and rises to £2 12s 6d, afte ,, the second year's service, and they get seven days' holiday on full pay annually. They have most comfortable quarters, with a large club room, billiards, gymnasium, library, etc., aud they have a system of catering for themselves—that is the single men, the married men live in the two-storied cottages provided behind the station, and no doubt their helpmeets aro their caterers. But the single

men have a mess, and their own cook, who caters, one of the senior men beeping charge of tho accounts. Every fortnight the cost is worked out and divided. The last fortnight it worked out at 11s per week —and they have all hearty appetites that are liberally satisfied. THE FIRE FIGHTERS' DAY. For the first six months of their engagement the men are on probation, and they aro given a course of training with* the various appliances, physical drill, first aid, etc. The Christchurch fireman's day begins (when firo does not call him out earlier) at 6.45 a.m. in summer. Till eight o'clock he is busy about the station, keeping it to that condition of cleanliness and Pjolish that is a feature of the up-to-date firo station, testing automatic fire alarms, and so on. All the x>ainting. carpentering, blacksmithing, sailmaking, patching, mending, and plumbing for the -Brigade is done by tho members themselves, who * have well equipped workshops for the purpose— and being "handy men," do the work well. Only really "big jobs 1 ' aro given out, jobs beyond the capacity of the "plant."