FIGHTING A FIRE

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20508, 26 May 1938, Page 10

FIGHTING A FIRE

INSUFFICIENT STAFF MR CHARTERS SPEAKS AGAIN I MEN SLEEPING AT STATION ißy Telegrapfc.—press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, Thursday Revising his earlier statement concerning the distribution of the staff of the Christchurch Fire Brigade on | Monday morning •when a Are' gutted MacDuffs’ building and the State Theatre, the chairman of the Fire Board, Mr T. M. Charters, said six men were sleeping who were at the central station and failed to answer the’ general alarm. He added that of a staff of 47 men, 18 brigade members and one volunteer from holiday leave attended the fire. In actual fact the number on duty was sufficient but the question was whether under existing award conditions more men would have been available in the event of the fire spreading towards Armagh Street. The actual staff position when the alarm was received, said Mr Charters, was that twenty men were on holiday and one on sick leave and eight men were standing by at four stations. Nineteen men turned out to Mac Duffs, plus one volunteer from holiday leave’. Of the remaining .10 men on holiday leave six were sleeping at headquarters and one at Sydenham. “ The point is made that three men who ordinarily were to have taken their day's leave on the day of the Are voluntarily placed themselves under the orders of the superintendent,” said Mr Charters. “ That definitely creates a wrong impression. The fact is these three men were due to go on leave at 8 a.m. but as they were at the Are at that hour they could be asked voluntarily to carry on. No Response to Alarm “ Regarding Mr Glover's statement that the men on leave’ at the station were not asked to Aght the Aames I would point out that there was no response from these men to the general > alarm which was sounded throughout the station. There is no time to run round the station to And out who is there. If there is no response it must be assumed that no men are there. No penalty is provided for not responding. This is clearly indicated by the’ Auckland superintendent's statement; otherwise why should there be reference to a gentleman's agreement *' Orders Which Never Came ” Mr Glover stated that only a small number of those offering their services were accepted and that the' others were told to ” stand by ” for orders which never came. As the six men who have since been found to have slept on the station did not respond to 11 the general alarm ” it is apparent that they could not have received orders of any kind. Whether the staff is or is not adequate to handle efficie'ntly any potential outbreak in the city will be largely governed by the number of men left on the stations. ’“'lf and when further increased leave allowances are granted I should like to assure' Mr Glover that I bow not even to him in my appreciation of the work of the AreAghters of this Dominion. Any other interpretation of my remarks would be grossly unfair and entirely misleading.” OBJECT ACHIEVED BRIGADESMEN’S DEMANDS BOARD CHAIRMAN’S CLAIM (By Telegraph.—Press Association) # CHRISTCHURCH, Wednesday “ The object of my previous statements on the subject of the award provisions is being achieved,” said the chairman of the Christchurch Fire Board, Mr T. M. Charters, in making i a further statement to-day concern- 1 ing the calling out of the brigade to the Are which caused damage to the extent of £75,000 on Monday morning. “ My Arst remarks were made advisedly after consultation with members of the Fire Board because it was felt that the demands at present being made throughout New Zealand by the Fire Brigadesmen’s Union should be ventilated and resisted to the fullest extent possible.” “In my experience of the Are board control I have found the average Areman is a man of a very good type',” continued Mr Charters, “but unfortunately excessive unionism is to-day tending to lead the Aremen to take almost extortionate views on their rights. A Case In Point “The following is a case in point. Two months ago the Christchurch Fire' Board negotiated with the Aremen's Union in an endeavour to arrange deAnite meal hours of one hour for each meal. This was to enable the men to go away N from the station to have their meals wherever they chose. The negotiations, which were conducted in | the conciliation commissioner’s room, eventually broke down, the board receiving a written demand from the Firemen's Union that although the Board's proposal was otherwise acceptable it would be necessary for the board to undertake that if any delay in the meal hours arose the board would pay each Areman so delayed os and provide the Areman with a meal at the Board’s expense. “Is It any wonder in view of such a demand that the superintendent would hesitate to call out to any Aremen who are on leave, unless the | award specifically stated the Superin- ! tendent had such right to withhold j leave not already given, but the award ! does not state he has authority to call j back from leave any men actually on I leave, even though they may be sleeping on the Board's premises.” OUTBREAK AT HOKITIKA FRUITERER'S PREMISES GUTTED j (By Telegraph.—Press Association) HOKITIKA, Thursday An outbreak of lire at two this morning gutted the premises occupied by Mr George Wright, fruiterer, and owned by Mr William Robinson in

Revoll Street. The brigade made a splendid save with shops on both sides. Insurances on the building were £2OO with a similar amount covering the stock, both with the Guardian office.