CHRISTCHURCH FIRE BRIGADE.

Evening Star, Issue 4134, 27 May 1876, Page 2

CHRISTCHURCH FIRE BRIGADE.

Not being able to send a detachment to Ballarat to take part in the competition there Superintendent Hams gave the men under his command an outing on the Queen’s Birthday, and arranged for a trial practice, with the intention of forwarding the result to Ballarat for comparison with the performances of the other Brigades. From the ‘ Lyttelton Times ’ we learn that the Christchurch Brigade confined themselves to the engine practice, for which the printed conditions are as follows :—“An unlimited number of men to run engine 100 yards, no attempt to be made to put engine in working order until past the plug (or water tank); then eight men to do the work of extending levers, attaching two lengths of suction hose (one to be taken from eacli side of the engine); running _ out 100 ft of dry canvas delivery hose, fixing branch, and throwing water over a rope 10ft high.” Before commencing the delivery, the hose was to he made up in a coil, and with the brauch carried in the body of the engine. The branch was to have a nozzle of three-quarters of an inch in diameter.

The various detachments are allowed ten days’ practice in advance of the public competition, but the Christchurch Brigade haying taken up the matter rather late, and being desirous to have their trial on Her Majesty’s Birthday, could uot get anything like this extent of preparation ; and, moreover, they had the drawback of a wet and slippery road for their trial. The rain had a serious effect upon the trial, it was uot heavy enough to wash the mud away, but merely sufficient to moisten it, and consequently such work as starting an engine by hand was no easy thing, while stopping it without the aid of a brake—which fire engines do not possess—became a very difficult matter. Notwithstanding this, however, the men acquitted themselves in a most satisfactory manner, going very close indeed to the winning time at Ballarat last year. No. 1 detachment led off. The time for their first trial was GOsecs, which was considerably quicker than the best time made in practice, and the time for their second was 59secs. One man was then drafted out, and another trial was made, the result being 62Jsecs. This being reduced by one-eighth, as at Ballarat, gives about and tbo winning time last year, after being reduced in the same way, was about 54 one fifth secs. No 2 detachment in their first trial recorded 59secs, but in the second they did not stop the engine soon enough, and it had therefore to be backed a little to the water tank. The time, 60secs, was consequently longer. One man was then drafted out, aud the final trial was made. Another contretemps, however, occurred, causing some little delay. When the pole of the engine was dropped on arrival at the tank, it got into a hole, and caused the fore past of the engine to jump suddenly up into the air, whieh for the moment impeded the operations of the men. The time made in this trial was detachment. This concluded the trial The engine weighed 1 ton 281bs.