Evening star., 1942-02-26
|Chart Issued
On Emergency
Raid Services
PIons Mapped for
Feeding, Housing,
Medical Care


emergency medical services estab-
lished by the District Civilian De-
fense Once to meet air-raid eventu-
alities has been drawn in a formal
order issued by Metropolitan De-
fenSe Co-ordinator John Russell
Young and tentatively approved by
the Federal o. C. D.
The order states that as to the
second phase" for feeding of VIC
Tins of an enemy attack "responsi-
bility rests primarily upon the
American Red Cross, which is max
ing provisions for meeting this re-
quirement." In this connection it
was announced the problem of mass
feeding, after the first few hours
after an attack. would be consid-
cred at a conference between Red
Cross experts, the District o. c. D.
and other organizations to be held
in the "very near future"
Underlying this statement, issued
late yesterday by COL Lemuel Bolles,
District civilian defense director,
are the questions as to whether the
District was trespassing upon the
Red Cross field in establishing emer-
gency first phase" feeding housing
units Of the o. C. D. or whether it
was necessary for the District o. C.
D. to do this because 1t had not
been done by others.
First Phase of Setup.
However, District o. c. D. OFF,
cials said the formal outline of the
first, second and third phases Of
emergency procedures, contained in
the co-ordinator's latest order,
should fit well into the plan for CO.
operation between the District o.
C. D. and the Red Cross
The first phase Is described as
extending from the moment of the
incident" to that time when the
resources of the community can be
brought to bear in an orderly and
logical manner for the feeding and
housing of the population.
The Young order states that to
meet the emergency feeding prob
lem the District o. C. D. had estab-
lished 125 emergency feeding units
consisting Of groups of from 10 to
20 women. set up In churches or
other places, supplied with SUFFICIENT
coffee. soup, crackers. and the like,
to provide for the initial feeding
of 500 persons at each place.
These feelings are intended to
be emergency only, for the relief
of shock. as a preventive of panic
and for the relief of suffering" the
order states. Mobile facilities not
being available Immediately fol-
lowing an emergency, the AFRAID
warden srevice Is instructed to guide
and direct people away from dam
aged area and to the closest point
in the undamaged area where one
Of these feeding units is established.
The plan is to distribute these units
by location so that homeless people
can reach them in any direction
within IS to 80 minutes by walking"
Emergency Housing.
As to emergency housing, the
order continues, it Is impossible to
contemplate any effective method
of public shelter, that therefore the
immediate need is to be met by
plan for billeting under the di-
rection Of the emergency housing
units. Agents of the housing service
are to rendezvous at feeding units
and from there guide small groups
of the homeless to the closest un-
damaged locality, to be placed tenn
porarily in individual homes under
q pre-arranged plan.
Col. Bolles said this plan, about
80 per cent completed, should make
it possible for any number Of per-
sons, rendered homeless by an air
raid, to be initially fed and initially
billeted within two hours after
a possible disaster" He added that
the emergency housing plan contem-
plates establishment Of q central
bureau to which names and address
es of billeted persons may be sent,
rapidly classified and from which 1t
may be ascertained where a home
less individual is billeted. This sys-
tenn has not yet been perfected.
As to the second-phase feeding
problem, the co-ordinator's state
ment said this rests primarily on
the American Red Cross, which was
making provisions to meet the issue.
adding that: For mass feeding in
this phase there is required some
type Of organized groups Of we'll
trained and qualified specialists in
mass feeding. There is required a
more elaborate type of equipment
Of a greater variety Of supplies in
larger quantities"
Large Stocks Not Essential.
For this type Of feeding, the CO.
ordinator said, it was not consid-
cred essential that large stocks of
food be kept on hand in advance,
since time would be allowed, by
emergency feeding, for making such
arrangements.
Upon the arrival of the organiza-
ton prepared to undertake mass
feeding, the emergency feeding
service would be discontinued, Com
missioner Young said. He added:
I'm the Metropolitan Area the
District Chapter of the American
Red Cross has been invited by the
United States co-ordinator to I'M
dertake the responsibility for this
(seconO phase of mass feeding and
requested to develop a comprehen-
sive plan for meeting this situation
for approval by the co-ordinator.
"It is not contemplated that any
organization other than the Red
Cross will be called upon to partici-
pate in this particular phase un-
less the facilities of the District
Chapter, in the Judgment Of the
co-ordinator, fail to prove adequate
to the task presented"
Second Phase of Housing.
The second phase Of housing was
described as involving, first, utiliza-
tion of all listed, unoccupied room
ing facilities available as shown by
the District Housing Registry, and,
second, that close cooperation with
that agency was necessary. The
order added that conversion Of pub