1.
GTV Fire fighting equipment and personnel in parade
0.08

2.
SV Officials and spectators watching
0.11

3.
GV Fire fighting equipment drive by
0.18

4.
GV & SU Firemen hose mock fire with water and foam (4 shots)
0.30

5.
SV Firemen drops from helicopter onto roof
0.35

6.
GV & SU Different ways of rescuing people using ropes (2 shots)
0.48

7.
SV Demonstration of giving oxygen to victims
1.07

8.
SV & CU Firemen battle fire in building (mock-up) (2 shots)
1.18

9.
SV Flames in shack battled by fire volunteers
1.26

10.
SV Spectators taking pictures as fire-trucks raise decorated ladders and release confetti
1.42



Initials SC/1643 SC/1714



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Four thousand firemen from Metropolitan Tokyo showed the public their modern equipment and their fire fighting techniques in a demonstration held in the Tokyo dock District of Harumi on Sunday.

The shortage of oil forced organisers to restrict the number of vehicles participating in the annual demonstration. But the ninety-five fire-trucks and four helicopters that were used made an impressive display.

There are sixteen-thousand fireman in Metropolitan Tokyo plus a number of volunteers. They have at their disposal about thirteen hundred vehicles equipped with either fire-fighting apparatus, rescue equipment or first aid gear.

Despite the manpower and equipment, a record one hundred & sixty three died in fires in 1972, twenty more than in 1971. There are still many sections of Tokyo where people live in overcrowded, wood and paper houses. In addition there is the constant fear of a major fire caused by an earthquake. One hundred forty thousand died in the Great Tokyo Earthquake of 1923. Most of them were killed in the fires that were started by the earthquake.

SYNOPSIS: Four thousand firemen using ninety-five fire-fighting units gave Tokyo resident a demonstration of their skills on Sunday. It started with a parade through the dock district of Harumi.

Then, there were displays of methods used to fight fires. In this demonstration a mock fire was doused with water and foam. There have been fire departments in Japan since the middle of the seventeenth century although the early units were made up entirely of volunteers.

Today, there are more than forty-five thousand buildings in Tokyo whose upper floors are out of reach of ladders. So a special squad, outfitted in asbestos suits, has been trained to drop onto roofs from helicopters. In addition, long ropes are used to rescue people.

There are also teams equipped to give emergency treatment on the scene of fires and disasters. A record one-hundred and sixty three people died in fires in Tokyo in 1972. And there are still fire-prone areas of overcrowding ??? where people live in paper and wood houses.

The other main concern is earthquakes. One-hundred-forty thousand people died the 1923 Tokyo earthquake, most of them in fires that were started by the earth tremor.

Even tough here is a large permanent force, there are still volunteer departments in most districts of Tokyo.

As hundreds of camera buffs frantically focused their lens, large hook-and-ladd??? trucks raised their leaders and reveals colourful streamers. The annual demonstration ended with masses of confetti being released from containers on the ends of the ladders.