GUARDING ST. PAUL’S

Waikato Independent, Volume XLI, Issue 3891, 13 August 1941, Page 3

GUARDING ST. PAUL’S

HIGHLY-TRAINED WATCHERS METHODS BEING STUDIED One of the most select company of fire-watchers in Great Britain, •are the 80 men, including distinguished architects, churchmen and engineers, who nightly watch over famous St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Although St. Paul’s has twice been bombed with severe damage the cathedral’s massive gilded dome, surmounted by its cross, still rides London’s skyline; and, owing to a unique and successful system of fire watching, it appears that the cathedral never will fall a victim to incendiary bombs. So successful has been the system employed at St. Paul’s that the guardians of other famous British structures and buildings have come from all over the country to study it. ■ !

The .whole of the permanent staff of St. Paul’s, who before the war were normally engaged in maintenance and repair work, have been specially trained to deal with any incendiaries falling by day.

Feat of Memory

The 80 night watchers are volunteers who have subjected themselves to a rigid training. Everyone has been provided with a plan of every part of the cathedral. They have memorised every staircase window, every ledge and nook and cranny that might form a resting place for an incendiary. They have been taught how to get themselves quickly to the roof, high over London; they have been shown where every fire extinguisher is located, every hose and water conduit, every sand bucket, rake and shovel.

The whole system is co-ordinated from a control room in the crypt. A special code word has ben devised for each staircase and each vital part of the building—a word easily heard over the telephone and impossible to confuse. Secret Roll Kept As soon as an emergency occurs, a “shift” officer in the control room issues orders sending men to their patrols and transferring help from one part of the cathedral to another. This officer also has to fill the gaps when a volunteer must miss a night on duty.

At commanding points on the roof are two or three men who must telephone news of every f|re-bomb which they are unable to extinguish themselveL Extra help is then mobilised by the “shift” officer in the control room.

The roll of St. Paul’s night firewatchers has always been kept a secret, even though some of the names are among the most famous in the country. They are all men who cherish a great love for the cathedral.