Fire Fighters: Problems of Volunteer Fire Department

Stand by all stations. Attention! All districts! A family arm fire! Five bells! Move in immediately! That's it! Let's roll! Firefighters! The true-to-life story of our unsung heroes! Who stand ready to ride by day or night against our most murderous enemy, the demon of fire!

In just a minute, we'll take a trip into the country where Tim Collins and his brother Jimmy are visiting their cousin, Ellery Collins, Chief of the Volunteer Fire Brigade of Upper Falls. Cousin Ellery hopes that Tim can find a way to combat the costly fires that are destroying property throughout the district. But before we join them, here's a message.

Let's go, firefighters! Let's go to the farm where Tim Collins, rookie fireman, and his brother, Jimmy, are visiting their cousin, Ellery. Tim is on a week's furlough from the City Fire to pour up and you remember? Because Chief Cody suggested.

Colin's your cousin is in a bad spot. Yes, sir. And I do a lot to help out a brother fire chief, but I can't get away. I can't go out to upper falls myself on such short notice.

I know, Chief. And you can't give many advice unless you know the situation out there. Well, he gave me a pretty good size up. I understand they have an engine they keep at the volunteer firehouse.

Yes, sir, right in the village. When an alarm comes in by phone, somebody sets off the siren on top of the firehouse. And the volunteers come in from wherever they happen to be. But that takes time, Colin.

Yes, so they have too much ground to cover. And with the season so dry, even when they get to the fire, there's no water. That's the worst of it. That engine takes water from wells or brooks or ponds.