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9/~l STATEMENT BY CHIEF C. H. HILDEBRAND Mr. Martin 1 s statement is erroneous and is a clear design to mislead the public. The fire call at 2 Broad Street Monday was answered in
minutes. ------- pieces
of equipment with men answered the call.
of the firefighters were new personnel,
but they performed one hundred percent effectively under the direction of career, first line supervision and alongside loyal and experienced firemen of many years experience . The fire was brought under control in and extinguished in
minutes. minutes
There was never any danger of the fire spreading and it was under the complete control of the Atlanta Fire D e partment at e v e ry mome nt. The citizens of Atlanta will not be paniced by false and inflamato r y statements that the city is in grave danger of burning up b ecau se of l ack of firefighting p ers onne l. This simply is not true . All stations in s e rvice,
of
32, aT e ade quate ly �manned and are supervised by the city's most experienced and dedicated firemen. New men are being employed and trained daily. Since the walkoff of some 500 firemen on back firefighter staff ~ u p from
, we have built the -~------ to -------- The public should keep the facts clearly in their minds at all times. If there is a reduction in fire protection, it is the result of former Captain Martin and his followers deserting their posts, refusing the order of the Fire Chief and the order of the Fulton Superior Court to return to their jobs. It was Mr. Martin who refused to accept the city's action increasing pay and reducing hours January l, 1966. It was Mr. Martin who refused to accept Dr. Harrison's recommendations and broke off negotiations with the Board of Aldermen. Mr . Martin and many other former employees of the City Fire Department failed to appear before the Board of Firemasters to even expl ain their actions or answer charges of d ereliction of duty, failure to obey the order of the Chief or of the Court. no further choice. City of Atlan ta. The city had They were fired as called for by the laws of the �Since these men, by their actions, have chosen not to work for the Atlanta Fire Department, I call on them to refrain from continued harrassment of normal fire department operations and of the general public, and allow us to rebuild the Fire Department with those men who desire to serve their city in this area of responsibility. �
