outside of the town's limits before year end.

Some 25 volunteers from the East End station will today begin training with the Bermuda Fire Services in Hamilton to bring their skills up to standard.

And Chief Fire Officer Mr. Reginald Rawlins yesterday told The Royal Gazette : "It is my hope that once they are trained, I will be in the position to utilise them more than in the past.'' The demanding, part-time training course comes months after a group of St.

George's residents, backed by their MPs, handed the Premier a petition signed by more than 300, demanding that St. George's volunteers not be confined to the town.

Under current rules, the 32-volunteer brigade fights fires in town but only provides back-up to US Naval Air Station and Hamilton firefighters for other East End blazes.

Mr. Rawlins and other fire officials have argued that the St. George's volunteers have less training than their full-time colleagues in Hamilton or at the US Naval Air Station.

But East Enders, who signed the petition, claimed that the rules were unfair to the volunteers and put St. George's residents in a "dangerous situation'' because it took firefighters from the US base or Hamilton longer to reach them.

The issue was brought to the fore in April when a tornado caused severe damage in St. David's -- and firefighters from nearby St. George's were kept on hold for several hours while the men from Hamilton and the US base moved in.

Shortly after that incident negotiations between Government and St. George's officials on supplementary training and other issues took place.

Yesterday Mr. Rawlins confirmed that arrangements for the training, which will take "as long as necessary'', were made at "higher levels''.

While there is no specified completion date for the course, Mr. Rawlins said a basic volunteer course normally ran for three to four months.

Initial training will take place at the Hamilton station on King Street where all the facilities required for such a course are located, he said.

But training is also expected to take place in St. George's later.

"It isn't a St. George's fire brigade versus Hamilton fire brigade thing,'' emphasised Mr. Rawlins who has been accused of showing prejudice against volunteer firefighters and trying to extend his own professional territory.

"In fact, we have not been a brigade for some time. We are the Bermuda Fire Services. And all we're interested in is protection for the community.'' "I am hoping to train these guys to get them up to standards. Once we train them to accept responsibility, they will know what to do.'' But Mr. Rawlins said he hoped the participants would not "get turned off by the demand that is placed on volunteers'' who may be called on to handle about 1,200 calls a year.