AIR RAID PRECAUTIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24530, 12 February 1941, Page 8

AIR RAID PRECAUTIONS

WATCH FOR INCENDIARIES 10.000 NEW SOUTH WALES WARDENS ■. ;‘. (By Tasman Ait. Mail) '■ ,■ r ::> SYDNEY. Feb. 2. Taking the second great fire of London, started by thousands of incendiary bombs, the New South Wales National Emergency Services is planning to have responsible persons on guard throughout the day and night in every building in the State’s vulnerable industrial areas— Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and Port Kembla. The scheme will provide for a minimum of 10,000 special wardens 4o watch for incendiary; bombs and extinguish them. During working hours, said the Minister for National Emergency Services, Mr Bruxner, this is easily arranged, but the problem starts —as London found out —when the staff departs and the building is locked for the night. Incendiary bombs often fall unnoticed They do not explode, but start a fire, easily extinguished with sand, if caught early. If London had had someone watching every building when the fire bombs rained down much of the terrible destruction would have been avoided. Incendiary bombs fell on empty buildings and gained a hold before hard-worked wardens patroling the streets found them. Even then warders had difficulty in entering locked buildings. " Our scheme,” said Mr Bruxner, “ proposes that a trained man should be on duty in every building after the staff has gone home as well as during working hours.” Mr Bruxneradded that the estimate of 10,000 men may be altered because a special survey was now being conducted. The scheme will go before the coming A.R;P. conference of the Federal Government 'and States, as New South Wales desired to secure uniformity in air raid precautions work.