Brigade.

And the Chief Fire Officer Mr. Reginald Rawlins stressed that organisers of such events have a "legal and moral obligation'' to make sure adequate safety provisions are in place.

"On a number of occasions we have received reports/complaints of public events being oversold or the venue undersized or inappropriate for the event in question,'' he said.

"Our concerns are that the potential risk to life is very real when the number of exit facilities or escape routes are not in proportion to the number of patrons.'' Mr. Rawlins said if function organisers do not want to seek the help of a fire protection officer when planning such events, they should be do the following: Select a facility that can comfortably accommodate the numbers expected to attend, factoring in a 10-percent safety margin. Or they could cut back on numbers and repeat performances.

Ensure that the premise selected is approved for public assembly, for the purpose intended, and has the appropriate number of exits.

Make sure that adequate aisles and walkways are provided and will not be obstructed.

Choose "responsible'' people to direct patrons toward exits should the need arise.

Point out the location of the exits in an announcement before the event or performance starts.

*** Nine firefighters were called to Spring Hill, Warwick, on Friday night when a taxi slid off a driveway and got stuck. It is believed lifting devices were used to get the car back on the road. It was slightly damaged.

*** The Fire Service responded to 69 emergency assistance calls last month. This was down from the 75 calls received in March, last year.

Of the 69 calls, 57 involved fires. The remainder were for special services, which includes floodings, road traffic accidents, and boat sinkings.

As normal, the majority of calls received were from Pembroke and the City of Hamilton.

The Fire Service received 16 calls from each of those areas.

The estimated financial loss for March was $60,593. Most of which was due to a structural fire which caused about $50,000 worth of damage.