state-of-the-art equipment, Bermuda's fire service was not always so.

In those early days of the City, Bermuda's fires were fought by the Hamilton Volunteer Fire Brigade, which fell under the auspices of the Corporation.

According to Bermuda's present Chief Fire Officer, Reginald Rawlins, the Brigade then, was little more than a social club; excluding blacks and any others deemed `inappropriate' for the duty.

The scope of service had spread throughout the Island and not only was its cost a burden to taxpayers, but the volunteers remained untrained for their duties.

According to Colin Benbow in his book, Hamilton, Bermuda: City and Capital : "Even though the majority of fires took place outside City limits, the Government never saw fit to contribute significantly until 1962. Not surprisingly therefore, the Hamilton Volunteer Fire Brigade, came rather low on the totem pole of things that needed attention.'' Subsequently, the Brigade was forced into operation with insufficient equipment that was in the hands of "poorly trained, yet dedicated volunteers...'' As stated by one officer, when he was approached to join the Brigade in 1931, he noted of the equipment, "The last manual fire engine was a hand pumper that required four men on each side. You filled the tank in the centre with water, and then pumped up and down furiously to get suction...It was last used on a load of hay that had caught alight in a building on King Street.'' Back then, he added, the Brigade's other equipment consisted of a pumper called `Uncle John' -- named for John Talbot, the Corporation's secretary-treasurer -- that had been imported in 1926, a foam truck with solid rubber tyres which was capable of holding 500 gallons.

"Just before the Second World War, a Mack truck named `Aunt Helen' for Miss Talbot, a staunch supporter of the Brigade and a Corporation employee, was acquired and was still going strong in the 1960's.

"Later, through the efforts of Donald Rance, a second-hand jeep was purchased from Kindley Field and the pumper off a rusting Hatfield trailer was built into it with a chain drive to the vehicle's engine. It gave excellent service at the Bermudiana Hotel fire.'' According to Chief Rawlins, it is unclear whether the hotel fire spurred the Corporation into reorganising the Brigade, or whether it was a combination of that and the increasing numbers of fires throughout the Island.

"What was clear,'' he insisted, "was that the services of Martin E. Grimes were secured from the United Kingdom. As with other aspects of local life, racial barriers started to crumble and, in 1961, Ed Kelly was recruited as the first black volunteer fireman.'' An experienced Divisional Officer in the Surrey Fire Brigade in England, Mr.

Grimes was called to the Island to conduct a complete review of Bermuda's needs and to draft necessary legislation to cover fire prevention.

Increased traffic on the roads was hindering fire engines out on call and the speed with which the men reported to the station, noted Mr. Grimes, despite excellent co-operation from the American Naval Base, the Island's western end was at extreme risk if a serious fire were to occur, and not only were there a lack of piped water supplies, but mobile pumps made it difficult to extract water from the sea.

As quoted in Mr. Benbow's book, Mr. Grimes informed the St. George's Rotary Club: "...Fire prevention requires an interest in such things as proper storage, adequate wiring, careful handling of hazardous materials, heating appliances and restrictions on smoking...Protection is mainly concerned with adequate means of escape, structural fire resistance in buildings, alarms and extinguishers...The most effective way of preventing fires in buildings, is to have thorough, periodic inspections by qualified persons who can detect, and have the power to correct, hazards.'' In 1961, the Service moved to what is now the Registrar of the Supreme Court and Court No. 3, at the corner of Court and Front Streets. In that same year also, its name changed to the City of Hamilton Fire Brigade, encompassing five paid staff and approximately 100 volunteers.

Chief Rawlins joined the Service as a volunteer in 1964, becoming the first paid black fireman the following year.

At that time, he said, the call-out system for volunteers was an old air-raid siren situated atop a tower in the Fire Station yard. It was tested daily at noon and City workers set their watches by it. It was later moved to the City Hall tower, enabling the siren to be heard by those Service members who lived outside Hamilton. The time was changed to 5 p.m. with the introduction of electronic paging, with the siren eventually moving to Fort Hamilton and demoted to the duty of back-up call. It was discontinued after Starlings decided to make it their nesting place.

Once again, growth demanded a change of location and the Service moved to King Street in September of 1968.

With the departure of Mr. Grimes, the Brigade was further organised, the rank structure changed, and the title of Chief Fire Officer introduced. The first to take on the post was Joseph P. Murphy.

Said Chief Rawlins: "With the burgeoning costs of running a Fire Service, the Corporation entered into talks with the Government aimed at transferring responsibility from the municipality to Government. This resulted in the Fire Service Act, 1982, and on the 1st April of the following year, the Hamilton Fire Brigade became the Bermuda Fire Service...Today, the Bermuda Fire Service comprises a total paid staff of 104 including five female fire-fighters operating out of three fire stations -- Headquarters, Port Royal Clearwater.

The Department's annual budget is $5.6 million, of which one-fifth is from the Corporation.

Site of the old Fire Service and Town Hall A Bermuda Archives photo shows smoke billowing from the Bermudiana Hotel on September 4, 1958 Scenes of Hamilton This promotional picture for the Furness Bermuda Line shows Reid Street as it appeared circa 1936 -- (Bermuda Archives, Furness Bermuda Collection Above: An undated American postcard depicting a typical crowded day on Front Street during crop season -- Bermuda Archives GOVERNMENT GVT 100 YEARS ANNIVERSARY ANN