E.P.S. BLACK-OUT POSTPONED

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23940, 6 May 1943, Page 4

E.P.S. BLACK-OUT POSTPONED

EXECUTIVE’S DECISION END OF REORGANISATION AWAITED The trial black-out to be held in the Christchurch metropolitan area without warning will not be held for at least a week, and probably not for a fortnight. The Metropolitan E.P.S. central committee referred all details to the executive, which met yesterday and decided to defer the trial until after its next meeting, by which time reorganisation of the service will be finished.

The Mayor (Mr E. H. Andrews) said after the meeting of the executive that reports showed good progress in the reorganisation, and that it was considered desirable to postpone the black-out until the process was finished. The executive might consider the question again at a special meeting next week, but it was more likely that it would be left to a meeting in a fortnight’s time.

TRAINING OF E.P.S.

FRONT-LINE UNITS’ PERSONNEL EXECUTIVE APPROVES OF PLANS The broad outline of plans for the system of training front-line E.P.S. personnel in Christchurch was approved by the executive of the metropolitan service yesterday. The proposals were submitted by the chairman of the training unit committee (Mr M. A. Le Cren). Training will begin soon. Generally, the intention is that training will be done by districts and not by units. Districts will appoint associate training officers, and the first stage will be their instruction in the general duty course by the local training officers who attended the Civil Defence School. These associates will work with the district committees in arranging training and will themselves give instruction in the general duty course and crowd dispersal. In addition, each district will appoint bomb reconnaissance officers and gas liaison officers, who will be given specialist training. Part of their duties will be to give instruction in these subjects to first-line personnel in their districts. The district fire wardens will instruct in fire-fighting, and instructors will also be drawn from the St. John Ambulance (first-aid), Royal LifeSaving Society (resuscitation), and Health Department and local body inspectors (hygiene). The full course will not be given to all personnel, because of the varying duties of different units, and persons already qualified in any subject .on the syllabus for their units will not require to attend those classes, though they may be called on to show their proficiency. It is probable that the runners of the communication section, other than the officer in charge of runners in each district, will not immediately take the course. Instead, a modified course may be arranged for them. The medical unit has already selected its front-line personnel and the works and law and order units have almost finished this process. In the wardens’ unit the selection will in the' main consist of the district warden, the deputy-district warden, the senior warden, block wardens, and deputy block wardens in each district, but this will not be the invariable rule. For instance, some of the city districts will probably require larger numbers. There are approximately 300 blocks in the 50 metropolitan districts, but some districts have many more blocks than others. Fire patrols for front-line service are being selected on much the same basis.