Evening star., 1951-04-18
Feeble Sirens
LeaveD.C. Calm
In Afraid Test
Warning InoudibIe
Over Large Sections,
Is Called inadequate

Is Ooiled lnqdequute
Washington's first air raid
warning test since World War II
sounded today, causing scarcely a
ripple throughout the city,
Early reports on the exercise
held between II and 11:10 am.
indicated that the warning sig
mails. sounded by about 129 sirens
of the Police and Fire Depart
ments. were inaudible over large
sections.
Acting District Civil Defense
Director John E. Fondahl said it
was, generally speaking, very in
adequate, pointing up all the
more the necessity for getting an
adequate warning system in
stalled"
At Civil Defense headquarters
in the National Guard Armory, he
said. 1--WE would never have recog-
nized it as an air raid warning,
unless we had been tipped off be-
forehand."
Warning Given by Telephone.
From a technical standpoint,
officials said the test ran off
smoothly.
At 1880 am. word of q test
condition yellow" meaning that
enemy aircraft had been sighted
approaching the United States,
was flashed from the Districts key
point aid-raid warning center at
the eighth police precinct to civil
defense headquarters.
This confidential warning was
passed on by telephone to all oper-
ating branches of the civil defense
organization, including the Police
and Fire Departments, who broad
cast special warning tone signal
to all stations and vehicles. Fire
Department companies took up
dispersed positiones throughout
the city according to their air raid
alert plan.
Sirens Wall Three Minutes
At II am. the "red" alert, mean
Ing that an attack was immi-
nent, was flashed. setting the
sirens wailing in a 3-minute blast.
Ten minutes later the "all-clear"
signal of three steady 1-minute
blasts was sounded.
Civil defense wardens, stationed
throughout the city to test the
audibility of the warning signals,
started telephoning unfavorable
reports to warden headquarters
soon after the exercise was COM
pleted. Chief Warden Max c..
Schwartz summed up the general
situation as very inadequate.
Sirens were not audible more than
few blocks away, he said. Off
cials speculated that the slight
wind added to the difficulty of
hearing. The signals were COM
pletely inaudible at warden head
quarters at Thirteenth and Up
shur streets NV.
Similar reports came in from
public schools, all of which car
ried out air-raid drills during the
test. At many schools, the sirens
were not heard, but the drills
were carried out anyway.
School RelIS Clanp.
At Roosevelt High School, across
the street from warden head
quarters, warning bells in the
building changed at 11:04, al
though no sirens could be heard.
All students, previously in
structed in the drill, filed out of
their classrooms to the basement
of the building. where they re-
ported to their section teachers.
Teams of students, specially
trained in advanced first aid, held
open doors and checked class
rooms before taking cover.
1t took the schools 936 students
less than four minutes to get to
the basement after the alarm
sounded, three minutes later
teachers had completed a check
of attendance and frst-aid room
had been set up.
Adjoining Counties Notified.
For the test drill, students were
not required to lie on the floor
with their heads buried in their
arms. However, Mrs. Elva c.
Wells, school principal, said they
'all know exactly what to do in
case of the real thing"
The test included notifying all
adjoining counties of the alerts
received at the District civil de-
fense headquarters. Schools ir
Montgomery County participated
actively in the exercise, carrying
on drills similar to those in the
District.
Throughout the test, no emer-
gency calls came in to either the
Police or Fire Departments. In
structions had been issued that
vehicles responding to an emer-
gency during the test, should not
use their sirens.
The city's temporary air-raid
warning system Which was tested
today will be replaced by mid
summer with a permanent system
of "a amplifyers, designed to cover
the entire city.