Funding
the Brigade
When
Broadway Parish Council set up their fire brigade in 1897 they received
donations from local people, and from some insurance companies. But from
then on, and for the next thirty-six years, the cost of running the brigade
was borne the the ratepayers of the village, and from fees charged for
use of the brigade. The Council sought advice on what to charge for their
services from established brigades in the area. In 1899 they published
a scale of charges, which was similar to that of the Bromsgrove fire brigade.
It
was intended that anyone who received the services of the brigade would
pay in accordance with the scale. This cost was then passed on to the
insurance company, or companies, with whom the property owner was insured.
(Evidently, at that time, it was quite normal to insure a property with
two or more companies). In practice the insurance companies involved,
when settling the bill, would usually deal directly with the Parish Council
rather than the property owner.
Inevitably, there were frequent disputes between the Council, the property owners, and insurance companies as to what fees were due, and who was responsible for their payment. The situation was complicated further because, according to The Local Government Board, the Parish Council was not legally authorised to charge for the services of its brigade either inside or outside the parish.
This was pointed out to the Council during an disagreement with the insurance assessors, about the higher than expected fees the Council charged, following the brigade's attendance at a fire at Lower Farm, Aston Somerville in 1903. Broadway Parish Council submitted a bill for more than £20, but the insurance assessors felt it should be nearer £15, and questioned why two firemen were claiming for forty-two hours on duty. They wrote, "...kindly favour us with some explanation as to how this [the long hours] was arrived at". In this case agreement was reached, by the Council agreeing to reduce the fees to around £15, but they then added a further £5 for damaged hose.
Inevitably, there were frequent disputes between the Council, the property owners, and insurance companies as to what fees were due, and who was responsible for their payment. The situation was complicated further because, according to The Local Government Board, the Parish Council was not legally authorised to charge for the services of its brigade either inside or outside the parish.
This was pointed out to the Council during an disagreement with the insurance assessors, about the higher than expected fees the Council charged, following the brigade's attendance at a fire at Lower Farm, Aston Somerville in 1903. Broadway Parish Council submitted a bill for more than £20, but the insurance assessors felt it should be nearer £15, and questioned why two firemen were claiming for forty-two hours on duty. They wrote, "...kindly favour us with some explanation as to how this [the long hours] was arrived at". In this case agreement was reached, by the Council agreeing to reduce the fees to around £15, but they then added a further £5 for damaged hose.
A
further dispute with the insurers followed when the Parish Council claimed
fees for attending a fire at Mr. Arkell's farm at Cutsdean in December
1906. When the Broadway brigade arrived on the scene three straw ricks
had been destroyed, and a fourth was on fire. Due to a good supply of
water, and plenty of help, they prevented the fire spreading to the remaining
ricks. However, in addition to claiming fees for the captain of the brigade
and seven firemen, for eight and half hours on duty, the Council also
claimed for fifty-eight ‘helpers’, nineteen of whom came from
Broadway and had, obviously, followed the engine for the five miles to
Cutsdean. Helpers were, of course, essential because they were needed
to pump the fire engine. But on this occasion, given the extent of the
fire, it is not surprising the insurers questioned their number and the
length of time they were employed. After much negotiating it was agreed
that the claim be reduced to £20:16s from the original £25:11:6d.
These
were by no means isolated cases. A similar argument occurred between the
Parish Council and the insurers, following a fire at George Pope's of
Masty Farm, in August 1923. The Parish Council submitted a bill amounting
to £53:0:6d to The Sun Fire Office for the services of the brigade.
The insurers refused to pay but offered £26:5s (25 guineas), as they
said, "To show appreciation of your service". They maintained
that Mr. Pope, as a rate payer, was entitled to receive the services of
the brigade free of charge. This prompted the Parish Council to seek the
advice of their solicitors, New & Saunders, who's interpretation of
the law agreed with that of the insurers; namely that charges could only
be made by the Council for fires attended outside the parish. This advice
differed from that which the Council had received from The Local Government
Board twenty years earlier in 1903. Their interpretation of the law had
been that the Council was not legally entitled to charge for services
at all, neither inside nor outside their parish.
A typical
communication between an insurance
company and Broadway Parish Council.
The
issue of who was to pay became even more complicated in the case of false
alarms or fires that had already been extinguished prior to the arrival
of the brigade. In September 1903 Broadway Fire Brigade was called to
Weston Subedge where a rick was reported to be on fire. The brigade received
the call by a telegram, signed by Mr. Middleton of the company Scott &
Middleton who were, at the time, constructing the railway line from Honeybourne
to Cheltenham. When the brigade arrived on the scene the fire was already
out, extinguished by railway workmen, and the fire engine returned home
without the crew dismounting.
Scott
& Middleton later received a bill from Broadway Parish Council which
they, at first, refused to pay on the grounds that it took the brigade
three quarters of an hour to arrive on the scene, and were then not required.
It is quite probable the Rick was not even Scott & Middleton's property,
but that of a nearby farm. The Council pressed for payment, and warned
Mr. Scott, of the company Scott & Middleton, that the captain of the
Broadway brigade had been instructed not to attend any fires at his farm
in Buckland until the money was paid. After much argument Scott &
Middleton eventually agreed to settle the account.
Despite occasional legal arguments with the insurance companies, the Parish Council usually received payment for fires their brigade attended. Although, in the case of Mr. Scott it seems it was necessary to resort to blackmail. This unsatisfactory method of funding the fire brigade continued until 1933, when the Broadway brigade came under the control of the Rural District Council.