FIGHTING FIRE BOMBS

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23537, 15 January 1942, Page 4

FIGHTING FIRE BOMBS

♦ demonstration in CITY WATER AND SAND BOTH USEFUL ‘ "I think that the keynote of the demonstration is that fire . r not nearly so fearsome as they appear to be if you know how to deal with them coolly, and the m ,® m w a to get familiar with them, said Mr W. Machin, chairman of the organising committee of the Emergency * cautions Services, after he. with othe officials and members of the Emergency Precautions Services had seen several bombs extinguished by various methods at the Central Fire Station yesterday. „ , . Members of the Fire Brigade, under Superintendent A. Morrison, carried out the demonstration, in the Tuam street yard at the central station. The bombs used were British, of 1941 pattern. . , . “I am convinced that with this type of bomb the water method is better,” Mr Morrison told those watching the demonstration, He explained, however, that there were several types ot fire bomb. It was advisable to use sand in the first place, until it was clear what type of bomb was being dropped, and then sand or water as seemed; necessary; The bombs were placed on a section of planking, so as to show their effect’on a wooden floor. The first was extinguished with water sprayed frombucket pumps. Though the immediate effect of the water was to make the bomb burn more furiously and to scatter burning fragments, continued spraying put it out very quickly. Mr Morrison said that with this method water should first be sprayed round the room and then directed at the bomb. Small bags of sand were then used on another bomb, which was sprayed with water when about 501b of sand had been laid over it. Mr Morrison then showed how either end of a bomb already blazing could be picked up and dropped into a bucket of water. Though the water in one of the two buckets used boiled furiously for a few minutes, there was no other sign of life from the bomb after this treatment. With Sand Alone Sand placed only on top of a burning bomb is not effective on a wooden floor, as the bomb will continue burning underneath. This was clearly shown by the brigade’s last experiment, in which a single large bag of sand was used. First the bomb threw up a miniature crater through’ the sand at one end, where it burned with a small flame. This died, down, but after a lew minutes smoke began to issue from under the, planks, as well as from the heap of sand. After about 10 minutes, when the sand was shovelled away, the planks were still burning, and there was a hole right through them as large as the, original case of the bomb. ‘‘l think that method could be recommended only for a concrete roof or in open spaces,” said Mr Morrison. "There must be sand or some protection between the wood and the bomb,” A specially prepared “house” was used to show the effects of a different type of bomb—one which combined a mild explosion with the incendiary effect. The "house,” about 10 feet square, was built of packing-case wood; it was open at the front, and contained a rough table and two chairs. The explosion followed two minutes and 20 seconds after the igniting of the bomb, and the scattered burning material set the structure on fire. The fire was put out by sprays from bucket-pumps. “There has been a good deal of controversy, and people have been getting a bit confused,” said the Mayor (Mr E. H. Andrews), thanking Mr Morrison and the brigade. “I think we have learnt to-day that we have to use both sand and water. We are very grateful for the demonstration, which has been very educative.” TWO METHODS DISCUSSED STATEMENT BY MR FRASER ADVICE TO N.Z. FROM , SINGAPORE (P.A.) WELLINGTON, January 14. "The controversy which appears to be developing in the press on the method of handling incendiary bomb fires is most undesirable, because it tends to unsettle the public and call in question the instructions which are being issued by the New Zealand authorities,” stated the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser) to-day. "The position in New Zealand,” he continued, "is entirely different from that in Britain. We have not the same manufacturing possibilities and cannot supply unlimited quantities of stirrup pumps and other standard fire-fighting equipment. “In view of the existing war situation, however, and the greatly increased possibilities of attack on this country it is essential that we should .immediately improvise equipment which can be made available in every office and home to deal with incendiary attack. I am therefore satisfied that the Dominion Fire Controller (Mr H. M. Girling Butcher) and Superintendent C. A. Woolley, of the Wellington Fire Brigade, are fully justified in the experiments they carried out to determine the effect of this improvised equipment. I have seen a considerable number of these experiments, and fully agree with their decisions, which have since been endorsed by the conference of fire brigade superintendents from all the principal,centres. "It may be true, as stated by some of the newspaper correspondents, that the German incendiary bomb gives a more vigorous discharge than the British bomb in the initial stages. I am assured that a chemical analysis carried out in the Dominion Laboratory shows that the body of both bombs is of practically the same composition, and once the thermite igniter has burned out the result, must be exactly the same. “No Unreasonable Danger” “The fact that during the experiments the burning bomb has been dealt with both by a direct jet and the use of buckets of water operated by school children shows that there is no unreasonable danger in this method of attack. It is also significant and important that the British authorities have now decided to reverse their previous instructions that water might only be used in the form of a spray. "There is no real controversy about the use of sand,” added Mr Fraser. “It is accepted both in Britain and New Zealand that sand is useful for controlling the electron type of bomb. Information received from Singapore indicates that some variation in the type of incendiary attack may be expected from the Japanese, and the New Zealand authorities are therefore recommending the installation of sand equipment in all buildings. The importance of the stress laid on the water method is that water is useful to combat the fire at any stage, even after the bomb has burnt out, and it is essential that the public generally should understand and feel able to deal with any situation. “It will be impossible for the fire brigade to deal with every fire that occurs under emergency conditions, and it is essential that everyone should be taught how to deal with the bomb itself, and with the fires resulting from “As soon as the necessary printing can be done, the Department of Nat-

lonal Service is sending an amended instruction circular through the post to all householders and business preThls wiH set out approved methods of attacking incendiary bombs and fires resulting therefrom either by using first-aid fire-fighting equipment, which can be made available through the local authorities, or by methods and equipment which can be improvised in every home.**