WAR FOOTING

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 303, 23 December 1941, Page 6

WAR FOOTING

E.P.S. TEST ALARM

MORNING REHEARSAL

Staging the first full dress rehearsal of . the war, Auckland's E.P.S. organisation went into action when sirens screamed at 5.20 a.m. to-day. It was a convincing display. Most healthy feature was the amount of healthy criticism evoked both from the organisation and the public, and it is obvious that succeeding tests—ana these are to be held shortly—will be productive of a greater degree of efficiency. Fpr a first rehearsal it was a promising turnout.

General point of criticism was directed at the siren system. It was freely stated, both officially and unofficially, that the sirens were inadequate in number and volume. In many districts they were not heard at all; in others too faintly to wake sleepers. The "all clear" was similarly criticised as being too faint.

The warning sounded at 5.20. Wardens who heard it were immediately at their posts. The fact that the time was a well-kept secret added to the merit of some of the performances. But at 5.50 a.m. somebody, in error, sounded the "all clear." Other sirens took it up, and soon, throughout the whole area, there was the hubbub of the long wail signifying that the emergency was over.

The Mayor, Mr. J. A. C. Allum, chief warden, who had been the first to reach the headquarters at the Town Hall, immediately gave instructions for the warning to be sounded again, as' the emergency still existed.

Wardens and other emergency workers in many instances had left their posts and were trudging home to an early breakfast. They returned immediately. Indeed, this second phase, though unpremeditated, served a useful purpose, for the response was excellent. The second, and official, "all clear" was sounded at 6.15 a.m.

There was another complication in the siren system. About an hour before the warning a ship's siren was heard from the harbour in many of the seaside areas. Wardens tumbled out of bed and groped for their trousers in the first light of dawn. Some realised the false alarm, but the fact that others made a dramatic appearance, fully dressed, when the sirens later blasted their warning suggested that they had preferred to stay awake and ready for action.

Now on full war footing, many of the wardens, particularly those associated with fire-fighting, complain of a lack of steel helmets. "What would be the use of tackling a fire with only the protection of a glengarry? they asked. Other wardens referred to the risk from splinters and urged the necessity for the immediate provision of head protection.