IN AN EMERGENCY

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4523, 14 January 1942, Page 5

IN AN EMERGENCY

DISPERSAL AREAS AND SHELTERS WITHIN THE BOROUGH At Monday night’s meeting of the executive of the Te Awamutu Emergency Precautions Service Organisation, Messrs Graham Macky (engineer to the Waipa County Council) and R. H. Close (foreman to the Te Awamutu Borough Council) submitted a report dealing specifically with the provision of public shelters in Te Awamutu and reported having made a general survey of the central area of the town, as the result of which they recommended the provision of trench accommodation for at least 600 people. COMPREHENSIVE REPORT The report was as follows: “In regard to the central area of the town, we have to report as follows: “Raid Shelters (i.e., any structure, tunnel, or covered trench as distinct from what is commonly known as ‘slit trenches’): The recommendation is that the construction of raid shelters be not proceeded with meantime. “Dispersal Areas: It is recommended that the two principal areas be Victoria Park and Selwyn Park, together with the contiguous river bank. "Supplementary areas in order of importance are as follows: “1. Two areas on either side of and to, the back of the F.A.C. Building.— These areas should serve the western portion of the business area; but they are limited in size and the natural cover is not equal to that provided in either, of the principal areas. The property owners concerned are the F.A.C. and the Laurie Estate, though the permission of other property owners may be required for access. “2. East of Sloane Street, to the rear of the buildings.—This site, too, is of limited extent and with a certain amount of cover, but is well situated for use by the occupants of buildings in that vicinity. The property owners concerned are Messrs Cucksey and Grant.

“3. East side of Palmer Street. — There is quite good cover in this section and it is well situated for a portion of the town. The owner of the section is Mr T. Mclnnes. There is a possibility that this section might be required in connection with the old school. In regard to the two principal areas, it is to be pointed out that the distance from Alexandra Street to Victoria Park is approximately 18 chains, or say three or four minutes’ walk, and the distance from Fowler’s Corner to Selwyn Park is 12 chains and from Alexandra Street to the river bank via Market Street is 20 chains. The natural cover available at all times of the year in these areas makes it highly desirable to get as many people there as possible rather than to encourage them to congregate at inadequate areas with next to no cover, even though they may be situated closer to their normal place of occupation. “4. Slit Trenches.—lt is very difficult to know to what extent provision should be made for trenching. For a daylight alarm the density of population will be well distributed throughout the business area, with a population, exclusive of shoppers, of say 600 to 700. In the event of a daylight alarm is it to be the policy of the Law and Order Committee to get as many rural cars as possible away immediately on the sounding of the alarm or will they be required to stay put? This will have a bearing on the question of provision of trenches. The evening population may be greater if a function is being held at the Town Hall as well as the usual picture theatre audiences. Owners or occupiers of premises in the business area may choose to make provision for their own staffs where suitable sites are available; but they should be so located as to be strictly private and not liable to overcrowding by the general public. A tentative allocation of trench accommodation for the various sites is as follows: Victoria Park .... 200 Selwyn Park .. . 200 F.A.C. Area 100 Sloane St. Area .... 50 Palmer St. Area .... 50 Total .... .... 600 persons, or 1800 ft. of trench. “The cost of digging the trenches will vary considerably, due to the nature of the ground. It will be necessary in locating them to make use of the maximum amount of cover and this will mean excavating through tree roots, etc., so that the cost may be approximately estimated at 4s per person. It should be mentioned that the 600 mentioned above could be increased by 33 1-3 per cent without undue overcrowding.” THE DISCUSSION The report was formally adopted, and it was decided to submit it in a tentative way to the resident engineer of the Public Works Department. On the subject of shelters, the National Service Department forwarded a copy of the recently enacted regulations. It was considered at the moment that the regulations were more applicable to the cities and densely settled localities. Shelters were in three classes, namely, public shelters, business establishment shelters and private shelters. Subsidy would only be made where the need of work had been indicated by the Government and after plans had their approval. It was pointed out that the regulations had no bearing on what were commonly called slit trenches. In answer to an inquiry, Mr Graham Macky said the recommended dimensions for slit trenches at or near private homes were two feet six inches wide, three feet six inches deep, and from two to three feet in length for each person. Such a trench afforded shelter for people in a crouching position. If a seat were desired, the trench should be made nine inches deeper. The earth should be thrown around the trench and kept back 15 inches from the trench itself. For drainage, the bottom should slope slightly toward a sump hole at one end. Things to be avoided were telegraph or electric lines overhead and proximity to buildings. A location under or near a hedge for cover was desirable. If in soft earth, the edges should be timbered. It was decided to await consultation with the technical advisers of the Government before doing anything in the way of preparing public shelters or trenches, but, in the meantime, it was urged that the public should note the location of the dispersal areas.