Evening star., 1942-08-23
Subcontro| Centers
Ready 10 Operate in
Next Raid Test
500 Workers Trained
For Emergency Action,
Deputy Lumpkins Says

The District subcontrol centers,
focal points for receiving calls for
help and dispatching aid in an
emergency, will swing into opera
ton with the next air-raid test, it
was learned yesterday.
The seven centers, which required
months of planning and prepara-
ton after it was decided to decen-
tralize the control system, were tenn
porarily stymied for lack of volun-
teers, but more than 500 workers
are now trained and ready to go.
The belief that men and women
will step forward to offer their serv-
ices when they know exactly what
is expected of them and what the
need is, said Porter Lumpkins, depu-
ty controller, appears to be backed
up by the fact that more than 200
of those who volunteered came in
response to the series of What Can
I Do?" articles on control centers in
The Star. About $50 of the volun-
teers, he said game from the Ci-
william Defense Volunteer Office and
the remaining so responded to per-
sonal solicitation.
More Personnel Needed.
At some centers, however, the
failure Of more men and women to
volunteer will mean that those who
have volunteered will be on call for
more than 8-hour periods but all
centers now have sufficient stats to
operate, however crippled.
Officials said the set-up would not
be ideal until all centers had suf-
ficient personnel to limit the on-call
hours to no more than a day.
Each center now has duty ros-
ter, showing the name, job and
telephone number of volunteers. Ir
some cases, two telephones, home
and business, are listed, indicating
that some workers are willing to be
called day or night.
yellow Signal.
When the yellow" signal reache.
the control centers, the clerk or
duty will call three to five telephon-
lists who live nearby and can be al
the center in a matter of minutes
The clerk will continue to make
calls, summoning the deputy con.
troller and his three assistants, unit
the telephonists arSive and start
calling those on the duty roster.
This will bring to the center aheac
OF the public warning signal all the
telephonists, messengers, log, fl,
and panel clerks and priority officer,
needed to make the center operate
Representatives of the chiefs o
services will either respond on tn,
public alarm or will be notified b,
their chiefs, it was said.
These are the men who decid
what equipment Is to be dispatche,
to the scene of incidents after tn
priority officer has determined whicl
calls from wardens show the mos
immediate need.
Train Nights Weekly.
| Training at each center occupie
the volunteers for three nights
week. All have had enough trainin
to do their jobs although they ar
not 100 per cent trained.
The centers in the vicinity c
Nos. 9 and IL police precinct sta
J tions still need telephonists an
messengers and several priority OF
f1cers are needed at the former cen
ter.
Deputy controllers have been max
ing concerted search for more day
time volunteers both to cut dow
the hours the volunteers now on ca
and to arrange for workers who wi
be nearby in the daytime instead {
being forced to summon employe
people from jobs at some distanc
from the center.
The control center near Colder
berg's department store reported
Windfall of volunteers. The stol
was asked to furnish 10 daytin
workers and instead produced
!, from its staff. The Is women wi
,, be summoned on a single call to RI
.. port to the center as telephonist
Other deputy controllers are tryir
to make similar arrangements II
= daytime staffs.