Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. SATURDAY,OCTOBER 6, 1894. THE FIRE BRIGADE.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 87, 6 October 1894, Page 2

Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1894. THE FIRE BRIGADE.

The meeting of citizens invited by the officers of the Fire Brigade, to be held on Monday night, should be attended not only by the business people, but by every householder in the town. No one can say, with any degree of truth, that he is not interested, because fire is no respecter of persons, and the richest and poorest are equally liable to loss of life, or property in their several degrees. It must be very gratifying to the officers and men of the Brigade to note the confidence the public have in them, and the reliance the average citizen has in the ability of the handful of men composing the Brigade to extinguish fires which may —and unluckily they do— happen in the wooden structures which are the large majority of the buildings in the town, to save valuable property, and possibly human life. We do not mean to imply that the people of Feilding are either belter or worse than those of any other town, although our leanings are probably in their favor, but we say now, as we have said a score of times before, that they as a whole do not evince that practical sympathy in the finance, the management, and the recruiting of the Brigade which they should do if they performed all the duties which are expected of them as having a common interest in the affairs of tho town. If a citizen does not care, from any good and sufficient reason to becomo a working member, he can become an honorary one by contributing a small sum annually to the funds of tho Hrignde, and thus supply means for the officers to purchase now or to replace worn out plant, and to pay fur extra labor at the manual engine when its services are required. It is generally expected at a fire that the public will cotne forward and work at the pumps, aud yery often they do, but good na a volunteer undoubtedly is in other capacities, he his not worth his salt when compared with the man who knows that after his work is done he is to be paid for his time and labor. To do this, however, the Brigade must have money, and it is the duty of the people who benefit either directly or indirectly by the Brigade, to find that money. We have no right to expect the members of the Brigade to do it. They give their time to become expert in the duties they have undertaken to perform and no more should be expected from them. We sincerely hope that the' meeting now referred to will do all that the Brigade requires which is practical sympathy in the form of men and money.