NEAFC 31st Annual Conference.pdf - New England Association of ...

NEW ENGLAND ASSOCIATION, OF I~IRE CHIEFS
There was one tragic loss in our equipment that speaks for itself. I have had an
inventory taken, and all of my companies reported, to me all tools and equipment missing.
In ~i)ery case they reported that their blankets were missing. You know what
that means. Thank you, gentlemen! (Applause)
CHAIRMAN WOOLLEY: If this will accomplish nothing else but having Chief Travers
talk, I am sure we have done a good job, and it was worth all the time and effort
that th~ committee has put in. I want to thank ’Chief Travers in the name of the panel,
and I .e.nly wish we could sl? here and listen all the rest of the session because I am sure
it would be profitable. I only hope we will be able to publish this whole story--amplitied
a bit in "Fire Engineerin.g"---bec~use this is one of the epics, of the fire service.
At least we owe it to the ,Panel to discuss many of the questions preseented them
from the audience. Let me make you acquainted with members of our panel. Those
participants with me are Chief Horace S. Jose, So. Portland, Maine (applause) ; Chief
Walter R. Messerof Keene, New ’Hampshire (applause) ;Chief John E. Keefe, Bellows
.Falls, Vermont (applause); Chief Walter R. Murray of Weymouth, Massachusetts
(applause) ; Chief Lewis A. Marshall of Providence, Rhode Island (applause) ; Chief
Francis Scully, Waterbury, ,Conn,. (applause); Fire Marshal W. J. Scott, Ontario, Canada
(applause).
In preparing this Panel, we asked each one of them for ideas and questions that
could ~be discussed here. Since .they sent in" their recommendations, we have tried to
check them with other questions that would be of interest to all of you.
I would like to add. a word or two here. Since Chief Travers has brought up the
questions ,of mutual aid ~and amb[llance work, one question submitted by Walter Messer
is particularly proper: "Is the fire department the proper agency to handle ambulance
service?" Chief Messer asked this question, and I want him to take a minute or two to
give his opinion, and then I want to hear from one or two members of the Panel.
CHIEF MESSER: Roi, this question was brought out in the idea that our department
gave up the ambulance service and a local undertaker has purchased ambulances in trying
.to fill ifi the service for ambulance duty in the town. In many of the cities throughout
our area, many ambulances were handled by the fire service and it takes many more
men in the fire service to handle ambulance service.
I would like a few points on whether it would be feasible tO have ambulances in
the fire service. Every time there is an ambulance call, the personnel from the fire department
is called~.
CHAIRMAN W00LLEY: Thank, you, Chief. I believe the idea is this: You have two
phases to this ambulance question. One is, shall the fire department have its own, ambulances
and, two, should the fire department itself or through a committee or bureau,
operate the ambulances fv,r the municipality--in other words, dispatch them and operate
them.
Let’s take the first .one. I am wondering if there are any questions? Is there anyone
on the Pan,el who would disagree with the idea that all ,fire departmeents should
have an ambulance, or more than one? Anyone?
CHIEF LEWIS A. MARSHALL, Providence, Rhode Island~: I think at the present moment
with our rescue service we are almost providing an ambulance--and the rescue
service is building up all the time. It has built up from probably two hundred runs a
year, and I checked befgre: I left the city, and this year we will. have._w.ell over eight