大象传媒

Another thing we had to do during the war was Fire Watch. And I had to take my turn at it. I worked in Robert鈥檚 Garage in Foyle St. I worked in the stores. Everyone had take their turn. The Fire Watching for that area, it was in John R Hastings. They wevre a very well-known wholesale grocers. And everyone had to take their turn. Everyone did their week and turn. My week, unfortunately 鈥� they had a permanent fire watcher. You were meant to stay up all night 鈥� you were supposed to go to sleep, he was supposed to stay awake, but if anything happened you were on-hand. But I was most unfortunate. Because the man I had was the Chief Fire-watcher had a bad stomach, and he belched all night.
鈥淎w, my stomach鈥檚 bad.鈥�
I didn鈥檛 get to sleep at all.
You had to do a course on Fire Watching. When I say Fire Watching, say of putting out an incendiary bomb. And you had to put it out with one of these stirrup-pumps, as we called them. Did a course on that. And I got my certificate! My name is 鈥淓 Gallagher, FG鈥� 鈥� I鈥檓 a Fire Guard!
I remember one day they sent for a friend, did it together. And this old fellow went in, there was a fire, small fire lit in this shed. And it was supposed to be the incendiary bomb. My friend stood on the pipe. I always remember this man coming out, and I don鈥檛 know what country he was from, but he said 鈥淚 vant vater! I vant vater!鈥�

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