FIREMEN'S KEENNESS

Taranaki Daily News, 12 September 1940, Page 6

FIREMEN'S KEENNESS

EFFICIENCY THEIR AIM PROBLEMS MET CALMLY EXAMPLE AT WAVERLEY Trials and tribulations do not daunt the volunteer firemen who guard the property of citizens in most Taranaki towns as the annual l report of the Waverley Fire Brigade shows. Though their services are seldom required the firemen maintain their enthusiasm,' and efficiency, against the unexpected day when the call will come. Last year the Waverley brigade had to fight only two fires, but the firemen were trained for the task. They attended 47 practices during the year, and any who did not attend sufficient were struck off the roll. In addition the brigade sent teams to demonstrations at Wellington and New Plymouth. Serious Occurrences. If their biggest trouble was the need for consistent practice with only rare opportunities to use their skill, the firemen's lot would not be so bad, but as the Waverley report shows that is only a very minor matter. There are, for example, false alarms, two of which were received last year. They were vexatio.us, but more seri-

ous were two cases of deliberate interference with the fire plugs in the main street. That interference would have caUsed serious delay in an emergency, with the possibility of damage to the equipment. The manner in which these plugs were jammed led to the belief that it was the work of persons of more mature age than children. Another serious occurrence was the theft of petrol from the engine. Fortunately the careful check kept on the engine made it improbable that the brigade would be caught with an empty tank on the night of a fire. The report regrets the loss of one uniform during the year. That occurred when ex-Fireman Ellis had his home destroyed by fire.