Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News. SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1907.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVI, Issue 43088, 4 May 1907, Page 2

Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News.

SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1907.

Ihis above all—to thine own self be true, And it must follow as the night the day Ihou canst not then be false to any man Shakespeare.

The fire which occurred yesterday morning served to show very clearly what our Volunteer Fire Brigade is capable of performing. Although the flames had a good hold upon the building when the brigade arrived, within twenty minutes, by systematic work, the fire was got well in hand. The primary duty of a fire brigade is to extinguish a fire to stop it from spreading, and the work of yesterday shows that even in the case of a portion of a large block taking fire, the brigade could be relied upon to prevent the fire from spreading far from the seat of origin. An independent witness, who is well up in fire brigade matters, speaks very highly of the systematic way in which the brigade went to work with, as it proved, good results. It might be argued that what was saved at this particular fire, is practically valueless through being charred or wet, but the important point to be observed is that had this been a portion of a large block, the whole of the remainder would have been saved. It is gratifying to know that the bulk of the property in the town is thus secured from destruction. But for the services of the volunteer brigade, we fear the consequences of such outbreaks would be serious indeed, for an untrained, though nevertheless willing detachment of citizens searching in nervous haste for gear with w r hich they were unacquainted, would lose many valuable moments at a time whenv-a large amount of property might' be at stake. The high value of an organised brigade such as we have in Te Aroha, though small, is scarcely realised, but we feel convinced that should the unfortunate occasion again arise, they will continue to prove themselves not only worthy of the support given by the Borough Council, but of the praise of the citizens also. Every town is liable to have its big fire at any time, and the liability is just in proportion to the inefficiency of its brigade. A fire can always be prevented from spreading if the brigade is on the spot in time, and for this reason every possible facility should be given to the firemen in order that delay _in arriving at the scene of conflagration may be reduced. It is therefore important that the Borough Council should give early consideration to the proposed scheme for placing the fire brigade station in a more advantageous situation than the one at present occupied.