Conventional aircraft and helicopters were used extensively on 

 fire prevention work in settlements, tourist, camping and blueberry areas, 

 difficult to reach by other means. The aerial loud speaker for transmitting 

 messages from the aircraft to people on the ground was employed to good advantage. 



During July, two courses of instruction in fire fighting 

 organization and techniques were given, one in the East and the other in the 

 v^rw3terly part of the Province, Sponsored by the Forest Industry and the Depart- 

 ment, some 153 men representing key protection personnel were given instruction. 

 Since employees of woods operators are our best fire fighters, these men, 

 further instructed by the supervisors attending the courses became an extremely 

 important fire protection ally. 



District meetings with summer operators including forest industry! 

 tourist operators, railways and others, held just prior to the fire season, 

 provides a valuable exchange of views and a statement of fire protection plans 

 for the coming season. This has become ah annual procedure of considerable 

 merit a 



Spring meetings with bordering forest protectionists from 

 Manitoba, Quebec and Minnesota are held annually and serve to iron out many 

 problems encountered at the border, including initial action on fires, payment i 

 of fire fighters, compensation, communication and detection facilities and [ 

 other items contributing materially to mutual aid. 



Forest Fire Suppression 



Through a co-operative arrangement with the Department of Ref om I 

 Institutions, inmates of the Burwash Industrial Farm were made available for 

 fire fighting o A group of fifty men were given instruction in fire fighting 

 procedure© Under guards furnished by the Industrial Farm, the prisoners were 

 employed in crews of ten men as required. They were permitted to travel by any 

 means other than aircraft and to be employed within a radius of fifty miles of 

 the Institution, A token payment of one dollar per day while on fire fighting 

 duty was permitted. This experiment proved highly successful and it is hoped 

 that the arrangement may be continued and expanded in succeeding years, I 



Two helicopters were employed on forest protection work through- 

 out the season. This type of aircraft serves a very useful purpose for getting i 

 to otherwise difficult fire locations with men and equipment in the shortest [ 

 possible time. Helicopters, employed as a supplement to the Department's fleet 

 of Beaver and Otter aircraft, have become an essential fire protection item. 



The principle of maintaining the fire protection organization 

 completely flexible on a province-v/ide basis, as a means of complete internal 

 mutual aid in personnel and materials, was continued. 



The procedure of carrying a small equipped fire fighting force 

 in air patrol during periods of high hazard and following lightning storms has 

 been found so effective as to become standard practice. 



Aerial bombing of fires with paper containers holding three 

 gallons of water was further perfected, A new type of parachute for cargo 

 dropping was developed and under test found to be satisfactory. Various items 

 of new equipment including a new forest fire pump showing considerable promise 

 were tested. 



Every effort was made to keep abreast of the latest developments 

 in forest fire protection both in Canada and elsewhere in order that each new 

 item might be fully assessed, 



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