TRIAL ALARMS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24596, 2 May 1941, Page 4

TRIAL ALARMS

TO-MORROW'S REHEARSAL EMERGENCY PRECAUTIONS DETAILS OF SCHEME For the purpose of trials and in the event of an emergency arising an " alarm " will be given as follows, says an official statement issued by the Mayor, Mr A. H. Allen:— Warning Signals "State of Emergency."—A succession of intermittent blasts of lOsec duration to be separated by silent periods of ssec, the whole signal to have a duration of 2min. "All Clear."—*A continuous blast of 2min duration at a steady pitch. The sounding of the "state of emergency " alarm will be the signal for the personnel of all E.P.S. sections to report at the posts to which they have been allotted. All members of the public in a genuine alarm would proceed to their homes or carry on with their normal avocations.

For to-morrow's trial, alarms will be sounded at points in the Port Chalmers to Mosgiel area. Full schemes have not been prepared in some areas, but this will be the signal for those sections which are organised to carry on with their allotted duties. Volunteer Workers Wanted

In the preparation of the scheme frequent appeals have been made by various sectional controllers for volunteers to complete personnel, and this need is again stressed, particularly in regard to the communications section, where boys are required, and the medical section which requires youths, women and men capable of being trained as stretcher-bearers. It is not possible for anyone not connected with the varied activities of the scheme to appreciate the amount of voluntary energy and thought given to these preparations by the controllers of the various sections and by their associate controllers and helperComprehensive Services

Each section has a definite sphere in which it functions, but #all work in co-operation where inter-relation is necessary. Taking the sections individually, first there is the Inner Committee, consisting of the mayor, the town Clerk, the city engineer, his assistant secretary and Colonel Barclay (liaison This committee will be, in an emergency, continuously on duty at the Town Hall and will decide matters of policy, etc., as well as being the medium distribution of instructions. The controller of communications (Mr H. Miller, chief postmaster) has' the responsibility of providing means of communication by telephone, telegraph or, in the event of the breakdown of these, the provision of runners, motor cyclist despatch riders, etc. His section will also deal with the replacing or installing of telephones as required. Fires will be dealt with by the controller of this section (Mr F. C. Laidlaw), who will also work in co-opera-tion with the Harbour Board scheme controlled by Mr J. B. Waters and his deputy, Captain F. G. Macdonald. The Harbour Board, like the Railways Department, has its own scheme and personnel for the protection of its properties.

Accommodation for the Homeless

Persons rendered homeless will be dealt with by the Accommodation and Evacuation Committee under Mr V. S. Jacobs's control. His committee has recorded all the voluntarily provided accommodation, and with the co-opera-tion of the transport section will transfer the families to new homes and also handle the evacuation of school children from schools to their homes. The maintenance of law and order is the responsibility of the Police Department. In this section Superintendent O'Hara will have the assistance of the transport personnel under Mr Avery, chief traffic inspsctor. This section, with the auxiliary police, will conduct the routine of inquests, etc. As controller of the medical and public health section, Mr J. A. Jenkins has been faced with the task of creating probably one of the most comprehensive sections and the training of a very large personnel. With the cooperation of St John Ambulance ■ and Red Cross and kindred bodies, however, the establishment and manning of stations has«been successfully accomplished, but as casualties can occur in this, as in other sections, more assistance in the way of stretcherbearers, etc., would be welcome. Food, Clothing, and Blankets The city engineer, Mr S. G. Scoular, has the responsibility of the maintenance of roads, water and gas supplies, and with his staff can competently deal with the matters appertaining to these tasks. Reduced lighting comes under the city electrical engineer. Mr G. T. Edgar, and his staff. The finance and records section, which will be responsible for the financing of services during an emergency, will, under Mr H. H. Henderson, city treasurer, deal with records of all kinds, from the salvaging of material to the payment of workmen. To Mr P. O. Smellie, as controller of supplies, has fallen the heavy task of finding food, clothing, and blankets and the issuing of these. Dspots for this distribution have been arranged throughout the city and suburbs, and these, in common with the other necessary sections, will later be set up in the areas beyond the city boundaries. The Women's War Auxiliary is playing a valuable part in this section. Areas to be Covered It should be mentioned that the area covered by the Dunedin scheme embraces the boroughs of Port Chalmers, West Harbour, Dunedin city, St. Kilda, Green Island, and Mosgiel. The Mayor and councillors of these boroughs have co-operated with the Dunedin Council, and as the scheme is developed further organisation will be carried out in each borough. It will be recognised that the first necessity was to provide for the most congested area, but now that the scheme has progressed immediate, attention is being given to wider aspects. The trial to-morrow is for the purpose of exercising the personnel within the scheme and not for a review for the non-participating public. It is recognised that in the first try-out faults and weaknesses will be discovered which will be remedied before further trials are held. Members of the medical section of the scheme who have not yet received their red arm bands are requested to call to-day or to-morrow morning at the headquarters of the St. John Ambulance Association in York place, where bands will be issued.