Evening star., 1942-10-06
BoIles Praises
Civil Defense
Forces in Drill
Night Disaster Test
To Be Followed by
Sitter Exercises

Sitter Exercises
Volunteers who ventured out In
the rain last night, to carry equip
ment to the scenes Of simulated
disasters were given Z pat on the
back today by Col. Leinuel Bolles,
exuctive director of District civilian
defense. and = promise Of . new set
Of training exercises.
The control center tests, climAxed
by an hour long demonstration last
night, are to be followed. Col. Bolles
said, by some type Of further train
ing to develop team functioning."
Although last nights drill origi-
nally was planned rs an all-out
practice Of moving equipment to the
scenes Of incidents, 1t was decided
yesterday to leave the dispatching
of equipment to the discretion of
chiefs Of services, with the result
that some services spent q much
buster evening than others.
Hospital Units Busy.
While hospital units. for instance,
were kept running from one incident
to another. some recue squad crews
occupied the time at their posts
waiting for something to happen.
Wardens, too, who had expected
equipment to roll to the scene of
their reports, were due for disap-
pointments when nothing happened.
Wardens called in incident re-
ports on nearly 600 bombings. unex-
ploded bombs, raging fires, theater
and school disasters, 4 hit at the
Capitol Building and bridge Incl
dents. Responding were all hos
pital units. two mobile canteen units.
some rescue crews, regular and aux
iliary police, decentralization units
and some demolition units and sewer
repairmen.
Here is how typical incident was
treated last night:
Shortly before pm. a Chevy
Chase warden opened his sealed en-
velope to read:
Blessed Sacrament School struck
by bomb. Panic broke out. War
dens have difficulty endeavoring to
enter building due to fleeing chill
dren."
Uses His Imagination.
The warden used his imagination,
rs instructed. and at BIS the
nearest control center received his
report that AS \ result Of high ex-
plosive 10 people were dead, so
seriously wounded, IS slightly
wounded; 28 trapped within the
building, Is trapped by fire and
roads blocked by wreckage.
He added that children had been
removed to safety. and that the
street had been roped OH. He asked
for medical equipment, rescue
crews and demolition and clearance
crews.
The assistant sector warden who
called in the report. his sector
warden and a messenger waited at
the scene. At 8:46, q regular police
man and an auxiliary arrived. They
explained that they had been watt
ing down the block since the report
failed to state the exact location.
They said they had received the
message at 8:35.
At 8:55, the three members OF the
warden service departed to call the
control center. with a supplementary
report, this time giving the school
location and adding a gentle re-
minder that equipment was urgently
needed, and that parts Of the build
ing are in the street"
Medical Group Dispatched.
Meanwhile, unknown to the war
dens, a unit. including a doctor, two
nurses, nurses aide and a canteen
worker had been dispatched from
Georgetown Hospital at $50 pm.
Instead of going to the scene, the
unit drew up at the casualty station
nearest 1t, the Lafayette School,
where 1t remained few minutes and
returned to the hospital.
ou IilC ACGlOu LAkcn Phase OF the
control center's report, it was also
stated that one road repair crew
had been dispatched but never had
arrived so it was apparently part
of the theoretical phase of the
exercises.
Col. Bolles indicated that further
training would precede an actual
all-out test Of apparatus on the
scene. The month long exercise
which ended last night, he said.
was intended to train civilian de-
Tense forces in the mechanical work
OF reporting and handling telephone
communications to dispatch Incl
dents.
This was just going through the
motions to see where we are weak.
1t leads up to the next step, and
there will be next steps as long as
we're in the war"
Before deciding on what this
move will be, he said, the evidence
brought out by last nights exercises
will have to be weighed to see where
further development is needed.