TE KUITI FIRE BRIGADE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 404, 14 October 1911, Page 5

TE KUITI FIRE BRIGADE.

INDIGNATION MEETING

CR FINLAY'S REMARKS

AN APOLOGY DEMANDED

Readers wil' remember that in our last issue at the meeting of the Borough Council the question of the new Fire Brigade station was discussed. The discussion arose when Mr M. J. Jones, architect, submitted a sketch plan for a fire brigade station. It appears that the officei-3 of the brigade asked, that whan dealing with the matter suggested, a billiard room should he attached to the station, the furnishings ot which they would bear the cost of, in order to keep the men together. This presentation of the plan by Mr Jones, with" the billiard room attached, drew from Cr Finlay the remarks that he had been in a good many towns and he knew of none "where the brigade was nursed as this had been. They were given everything that they asked for and after going to Hokitika only one man competed. They gave.a ridiculous exhibition of themselves.

With the object of refuting that statement a meeting of the Fire Brigade was held in Mr J. Erickson's office on Thursday evening, actingSuperintendent J. Rutherford in the chair. The chairman stated that all the firemen present were aware of their meeting. It was to combat the statements of Cr Finlay at the recent meeting of the Borough Council as regards their institution. The brigade had no desire to be spoon-fed or nursed. Up to the present they had been battling along without any uniforms or any other gear. The officers of the brigade had done their utmost to encourage young men to join the brigade, a work which those entrusted with were only aware of, especially when life and property were in danger. As regards the Hokitika trip Cr Finlay showed a. very sad lack of knowledge. In the first instance there were only two events in which the Te Kuiti Brigade could compete, namely, the one man event, and . the five men manual. In the latter event one of the men took ill and could not compete. It was impossible for Te Kuiti firemen to enter the various competitions, because they had not the gear to practice before going there. The primary idea of the trip was for experience. Fireman H. Vause, as one of those that went to Hokitika, said he had received from the public of Te Kuiti the sum of£2 12s whilst his actual expenses were, about £l7. He pointed out that it was impossible for the brigade to enter in any competitions on account of the little gear they had to pracice with. Speaking for himself he said his idea of the trip was to gain espari-

ence. There was many other brigades rresent who were on the same mission as themselves experience. The position up to then was that the brigade had no equipment, which meant that they were like a carpenter without a set of tools. Now that they had a certain amount of gear it was reasonable to believe that the council should be able to have men to manipulate it. He did not blame the council in its entirety, but the trouble was over what was stated at the council table. He thought that Gr Finlay, alhough he said he bad been in many other towns, . knew very little about fire brigade matters. He was disgusted with Cr Finlay and desired it to be known that he, as one of the brigade, had no desire to be nourished or spoon-fed. Fireman Cantlon said that he had been a member of the brigade for two years, and up to the present he had worn out his own clothes and boots, with an endeavour to keep matters moving. He now felt that there was little encouragement after Cr Finlay's remarks at the council table. He thought that Cr Finlay should be asked to apologise to the brigade or withdraw his remarks. With regard to the Hokitika trip, the council had contributed nothing, although nearly every other council in New Zealand had.

Mr J. Erickson, secretary of the brigade, pointed out that Cr Finlay was only one man. He thought that when such a remark was made that other councillors should have demanded it to be withdrawn.

Fireman Quirk: Cr Finlay's utterance was one of which you might expect from a schoolboy. Fireman Pitcon, as a member of the brigade, said that he personally had no desire to be spoon-fed. He thought it was incumbent on Cr Finiay to apologise to the brigade. Fireman Guinan said that he was surprised at the attitude of Cr Finlay. When he was living in an old wooden office down the street he was very courteous to the brigade, but now that he had got into a brick building with a strong room, the brigade were the first to be attacked. He thojght -that Cr Finlay should be asked to explain himself. | The chairman said that it was the ! unanimous opinion of all the mem--

bers that he should do so. It was resolved that the chairman of the Fire Prevention Committee be written to to ask Cr Finlay for an explanation of his statement and also that he be asked to apologise. Subsequently Mr Erickson, secretary of the brigade, was interviewed by a reporter and said that he blamed the council as much as Cr Finlay for allowing that gentleman to make the statement, unchallenged. With regard to the Hokitika trip, where the men went for experience, the Te Kuiti Borough Councilwas one jnly among the few thai did not contribute towards the men's expenses. The pubj lie contributed £2 12s per man and the I balance of the cost was borne by each fireman. It was said that only one man competed out of the five men sent down, but it had to be remembered that they did not have the gear to practice with before going there. Up to that time the brigade had no general equipment The members of the brigade "deemed it necessary that they

should have representatives present at the demonstration in anticipation of the future and better quarters. Mr Erickson concluded by saying that as regards Cr Finlay's statement it would have been taken little notice of, other than it came from the council table. However, they were the irresponsible utterances of an irresponsible young man which should be taken in the ordinary style, "cum grano sa'is." Acting - Superintendent Rutherford on being seen by a reporter, said that his sympathies were with the men, and he thought that Cr Finlay's remarks should cprtainly not go unchallenged. He felt rather keenly on the matter as it csists a reflection on the brigade which he, as one, would like to see settled at an early date.