Evening star., 1951-01-14
Citizens Urged
To Go Slow on
Bomb Shelters
No Approved Plans
Ready, Civil Defense
Officials Warned
By Crosby S. Moves


National civil defense officials
are advising home owners to GO
slow on the business of building
themselves back yard or basement
air raid shelters at this time.
Although certain private de-
signers and construction COM
panies have produced plans for
fanily-type shelters and have Of
fered them to the public. none OF
these plans have the official ap-
proval of the Civil Defense Ad-
ministration.
On higher level President Tru-
man IN approving the National
Civil Defense Act has indicated
that a shelter building program
will make up a major part of the
Nationwide effort to get the home
front in shape to survive an atomic
war.
But the truth is, plans are not
yet ready on either the public or
private level to furnish guidance
as to what kinds of shelters should
be built. or who should build them.
Army Studying Problem.
In theory at least this guidance
is supposed to come from the ma
tional civil defense agency. But
the whole problem of shelter de-
sign and ALLEGATION is so complex
that national experts are quick to
admit they don't have the answers
at this point.
A few months from noW-prob-
ably by early spring-the experts
hope to be able to provide the lead
in shelter construction, both on
a public and private plane, that
they admit is badly needed. The
plan is to draw up a whole cata-
logue Of approved shelter designs
to meet the needs of various num-
bers of people.
To get designs, civil defense
authorities called on the Army
Corps of Engineers who have
launched an extensive program of
shelter research at Lehigh Univer-
sity. The results of this program
will be in the hands of civil de-
tense officials probably within 50
days.
Backyard Holes Dangerous.
The problem, however. is not
merely one of finding a shelter
design suitable for providing, the
minimum required protection
from an atomic blast. High in the
minds of responsible officials are
the problems that would result
from approval of most conven-
tional designs for private con-
struction.
Such a mass demand, they say
might have a crippling effect on
the whole national defense effort.
Even much simple protective
measures as digging deep back
yard foxholes (Which admittedly
would provide considerable pro-
lection from anything but an over
head blast) is considered dan
gerous advice. 1t is pointed out
that such excavations might create
a serious drainage problem, with
a resulting public health hazard,
not to mention the danger to
children from deep holes in every
back yard.
Fire Greatest Danger.
Until the answers to these
problems can be worked out, both
local and national authorities are
advising home owners to confine
their defense preparations to
simple plan. They are urged to
select a shelter area in the safest
section of the home, stock it with
food, water and basic first-aid
equipment, and go to it in case
of an afraid warning.
Home owners are also told to
take some elementary precautions
against fire, such as turning off
furnaces and pilot lights and
keeping the home clear of all
types of infiammable trash. 1t is
stressed that most of the damage
at Hiroshima resulted from fire,
caused both by the heat of the
bomb itself and the effect of
overturned stoves and broken
electrical connections.
Experts admit that these pre-
cautions are rudimentary and in
adequate. They point out that
1t is impossible for the average
person to be sure Of selecting the
safest area of his home. That
would vary, they say, as to the
type of structure, the topograph-
ical features of the ground on
which it was built, and the prox-
unity of the blast.
Handbook to Be Prepared.
Studies now under way will go
far toward turning up the an
swers. They will give engineers
the facts they need to predict
how different types of buildings
react to an atomic blast. They
will provide practical measures
that can be taken to strengthen
buildings so that the people in
them have a better chance of
survival.
When these facts are ready in
simple handbook form, outlining
the problem for typical kinds of
residential structures in typical
locations, the individual home
owner will have something prac-
tical to go on in deciding what
he should or should not do about
his own shelter requirements.
Until then he is urged to post
pone his construction plans and
keep his fingers crossed.