E.P.S. WARDENS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 253, 7 August 1941, Page 6

E.P.S. WARDENS.

ASHBURTON REQUIRES 48. INSTRUCTION IN FIRST-AID. Forty-eight wardens-are required to staff the 12 blocks into which Ashburton has been mapped for emergency precautions purposes, according to a statement made this morning by the chief warden (Mr E. C. Bathurst). As so many men are already connected with the Home Guard or one of the numerous branches of the Emergency Precautions Scheme it is proving very difficult to obtain a sufficient number of suitable wardens, said Mr Bathurst. So far about 13 have been selected, including 9 senior wardens, each to take charge of one of.the 12 blocks. It is aimed at having a senior warden and three assistant wardens for each block.

The chief warden explained that it was the duty of a warden to take charge of the situation as soon as an emergency, arose aijd contact the various services that have been arranged to deal with such occurrences. A knowledge of first-aid was very necessary, said Mr Bathurst, and to attain this end a series of first-aid lectures were to be conducted in Ashburton by Dr. W. R. Ryburn for both the wardens and the demolition squad. It was anticipated that the course would occupy two or three months. The St. John Ambulance Brigade would assist with the practical side of the first-aid. Mr Bathurst expressed the hope that before long the wardens would he able to assist the local lighting controller (Mr H. G. Kemp) in the enforcement of the “black-out" restrictions. It would not he possible to act in this direction, however, until the full number of wardens required for the 12 blocks had been obtained. Another duty of the wardens would be to contact people in their block and give them particulars of first-aid posts in their area and other information so that everybody would know exactly how to act in the event of an emergency. The Education Department was allowing its teachers to act as wardens in areas in which schools were situated and in Ashburton one or two teachers were co-operating with the wardens.