MARINE DEPARTMENT LIBRARY
Stations. The classes for 1958/59 are 4th and 5th year elementary English courses and the numbers of students are 23 and 28 respectively. The object of these classes is to raise the standard of English of serving firemen with a view to fitting them promotion to Sub Officers in due course. The classes are organized under the auspices of the Evening Institute and take place twice a week, each class lasting an hour and a half. Lecturers are provided by the Education Department.
37. Officers of the rank of Sub Officer and above are encouraged to study in their own time for the Diploma of the Institute of Fire Engineers. A course of lectures at the Technical College was arranged, commencing in September, 1958, to assist officers preparing for the examination. The course lasts for twenty weeks and comprises two lectures per week of two hours each held after office hours, the subjects being calculations, water problems, chemistry and physics. Lecturers' fees are paid by Government.
38. In addition to local training courses Government has also given approval for selected Sub Officers to undergo training in the United Kingdom. The duration of this course will be from five to six months and will include a short course on fire prevention in the Fire Service College and one to two months attachment to Fire Stations. This course is considered essential as the Sub Officers of this department are recruited and trained locally and gain their experience and knowledge as they work. This training system was satisfactory in the past but expansion of the department and frequent staff changes during the post- war years have resulted in a gap between the knowledge and experience of Station Officers and Sub Officers too great to be bridged by local training. It was therefore decided that some of the younger officers should be sent for training in the United Kingdom in batches of two or three.
WELFARE
39. The Fire Brigade Welfare Fund, whose receipts are derived principally from charges for services rendered to the public such as the attendance of firemen at matshed theatres, etc., was well maintained. Disbursements amounted to $4,670.90 (including depreciation on local investments $40.00) for various purposes connected with the welfare of the members of the Brigade, and the excess of income over expenditure was $15,030.90. $25,066.44 was brought forward from the previous year and the total sum deposited in the Treasury as at 31st March, 1959 was $40,097.34. The value of local investments was $13,120.00. A
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