Evening star., 1943-01-26
Wadens Fail
To Pick Up 0CD
Equipment
StIrrup Pumps to
Go on Sale in n
D. c. Areas Thursday

Despite complaints over the fall
ure of the Office Of Civilian Defense
to provide equipment for afraid
warden sector posts, deputy war
dens in 25 per cent of the areas
have failed to pick up the thous-
ands of dollars worth of ffre-fight-
ing equipment and gas masks ar
irving here over the last three
weeks, local OCD reported today.
At the same time, it was an
nounced that the first stisrup
pumps available to the public here
will go on sale to holders of Ger
tiflcates Thursday at 20 Peoples
Drug Stores. The pumps, to be sold
on non-prof1t basis Of $191. will
be available to residents in % areas.
The first areas to get pumps were
determined by drawing last week.
In addition to the 16,640 ulti-
mately to be made available for
public purchase, 5000 stirrup pumps
were bought by the District for the
warden service, to be distributed at
the rate of two to a sector post and
one to each emergency feeding and
housing post. These arrived shortly
after the first of the year.
Gas Masks on Hand.
Soon afterWard, an undisclosed
but sizable number of gas masks
loaned by Federal OCD arrived to be
distributed at strategic points
throughout the city where they
would be readily available in case
of need.
Yesterday, the first of approx
mately $4,000 four gallon pump
tanks, to be distributed at the rate
of nine to sector post arrived here.
These were also loaned by Federal
OCD.
While deputy wardens are still
being notified of the arrival of the
pump tanks, they have known for
several weeks that the stirrup pumps
for the warden service and the gas
masks had arrived and were waiting
to be picked up from warden head
quarters.
A number of the areas, it was said
succeeded in borrowing trucks and
private cars in their areas to haul
the equipment to area headquarters
About 25 per cent of them, however
have never picked up the materials
for which they have been calling for
more than year, OCD said.
Can't Handle Equipment.
In addition, approximately 25 per
cent of the sector posts are not set
up to receive the equipment, OCD
said.
The other bar to receiving equip
ment, OCD pointed out, was the
failure of some wardens to complete
their training so they could be cer-
tilted, and thus eligible to handle
the equipment of their volunteer job
The arrival of equipment, however
has spurred certif1cation, so that
now approximately $4,000 of the
$4,000 afraid wardens have been
certified, it was said.
Pointing out that Col Lemuel
Bolles, executive director of District
civilian defense, had cautioned more
than once that wardens wouldn't be
ready to receive the equipment when
it did arrive, OCD urged the tagging
areas to call for the equipment
necessary to protect their areas.
On the score of stirrup pumps for
public purchase, certificates, allotted
on the basis of area population. al
ready have been sent out to civilian
defense chairmen, who were to dis
tribute them Immediately to sector
wardens. who, in turn, will hand
them out to residents of their sec
tors on first-come, first-served
basis.
5000 In First Shipment.
In order to buy pump, the pros
pective purchaser must have a cer-
tificate, which shows in which
store he should purchase hi;
pump. The certificates were issued
to keep the sale of stirrup pumps
on controlled basis so that all
the pumps would not be concen-
trated in one area, it was explained
The Civilian Defense Council
which is in charge of distributing
the pumps, has received the first
shipment of 5000 and all these
pumps have been allotted to areas
Subsequent shipments to bring the
total to 16,640 will come as all the
first pumps are disposed of.
Leonard Tucker, chairman of the
council, said speed had been en-
phasized in distributing the certifl-
Gates so that residents could make
their purchases as soon as the
pumps were in the stores.
Areas in which the pumps will
go on sale Thursday include
Takoma, Trinidad, West End
Metropolis View, Lincoln Park
Cathedral Heights Cleveland Park
Eastland Gardens-DeanWood, Chill
lum Heights, Sixteenth Street
Heights. Friendship. FoXhall, Crest
wood, Connecticut avenue. MacAr-
thur boulevard, Kalorama, Ivy City
Howard Park, Hampshire Heights
Georgetown, Greater Woodbridge
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