The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1933-05-25
Rev. Brock Addresses Members
of Oakland Fire DEPARTMENT

Approximately thirty-fve members
of the Oakland Volunteer Fire Depart
ment, a delegation from the Terra
Alta fire company and members of the
local fire department auxiliary, were
present last Sunday morning in the
Garrett Memorial Presbyterian church
when Rev. Walter B. Brock delivered
a sermon to those present at the an
nual attendance in a body of the fire
mems organization.
In part Rev. Brock said:
Someone cautioned me to be careful
what l said today. praise the fire
men all you please, but don't try to
put wings on them" Ny answer to
that kindly advice is that it would be
futile for me to try to put wings on
the firemen, because they already have
wings. They must have wings, judg-
ing from the way they fly to a confia-
grafton. Even in the wee small hours
of the morning, before the fire siren
stops screaming, we hear the machine
gun staccato OF the gigantic LaFrance
motor warming up, and off you go
with a trail of flame and smoke be-
hind you like a comet streaking thru
the stratosphere.
Whether those wings will take you
to the pearly portals of the Celestial
City with equal alacrity, l do not
know; but this / do know, that the
citizens of Oakland rest more easily
in the knowledge that there is this
company of stalwart guardians al
ways ready to rush to any point of
peril to save the lives and salvage the
property of the people.
Two things Oakland owes to her
splendid volunteer fire department:
(D Unstinted praise for the prompt,
efficient, courageous service which
they render in every hour of critical
danger, and (2) more effective CO.
operation with them in helping rid the
community of its greatest physical
menace-fire!
The most atrocious felony in the
catalogue of crime is arson. The
most sinister criminal is the firebug
who not only destroys millions of dol
lars worth of property, but inciden-
tally murders thousands of men, We
Hell anu WIFI LllS lIlOSI llCllu-
ish cruelty.
But the most dangerous fiTebug is
not the masked man who prowls at
night. The most dangerous frebug is
respectable Mr.. John Citizen who
carelessly drops cigarette or lighted
match without looking to see where
it lands, who negligently allows in
f1ammable waste to accumulate in the
cellar or attic of his house or place
of business, who thoughlessly leaves
a smouldering camp fire in the woods
without thoroughly eXtinguishing it.
Only small proportion of the appall-
ing and tragic loss of life and prop
erty in America through unnecessary
fires is due to deliberate criminal NAL
ice aforethough; most of it is due to
carelessness, negligence, thoughtless-
ness!
This is the second time we have had
the honor and pleasure to welcome
the o. V. F. d. as our guests at a
special service. We hope it will be-
come an annual custom for you to
worship as body in some Christian
church. We hope that your example
will be followed in other communities.
We hope it will signalize more ac-
tive cooperation between the Church
and the fire department. After all, we
are in theasame business: your job is
to save people from fire in this world
and the Church's job is to save souls
from the fires of the world to come.
The churches should Loyalty support
the fire company, and the firemen
should Loyalty support the churches,
each individual being faithful to the
church of his choice-to the end that
our community may become not only
safe place in which to live, but also
a wholesome place for girls and boys
to grow up into useful, happy Chris
clan womanhood and manhood.