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AUGUST 19TH 1938
An article in The West Sussex County Times.
60 Auxiliary Firemen Required.
Horsham residents, heedless of the call of duty are slow to volunteer for public service by taking part in the towns Air Raid Precautions work.
A very important part of the work will be commenced in the near future; this is the mustering of an Auxiliary Fire Brigade, which will call for the services of some 60 men, preferably between the ages of 30 – 50 years of age
WAR
Sir Vivian Henderson, in 1935 was president of the Professional Fire Brigades Association; He was asked what measures should be taken to co-ordinate fire brigades in the event of war with Germany.
Mr. Ben Gardener M. P. who was a former chairman of the Committee of Westham Fire Brigade. Asked;’’ In connection with the preparations foreshadowed for National Defence and the danger of incendiary attack from the air, is any scheme being worked out for bringing all fire brigades up to an approved standard and inter linking them for joint action?’’
It seems odd that the N. F. S. was not created before the war begun, instead of waiting until 1941 when the lack of co-ordination between Brigades would have hindered their work during heavy air raids and traumatic circumstances
The Home Secretary said that he had decided to appoint a committee, known as The Departmental Committee on Fire Brigade Services. It was formed in August 1935; the chairman was Lord Riverdale. Which is why the report in 1936 became known as the Riverdale Report. There had been a Royal Commission in 1921. This looked into the structure of the British Fire Services. But very little change was ever made. Now with war, ever closer, the Home Office set up the Fire Brigades Division and started making arrangements for emergency Wartime fire fighting.
1937 saw the drafting of a Fire Brigades Bill. This eventually received Royal assents in July 1938, and became the fire Brigades Act, 1938. For the first time a mandatory obligation was imposed on local authorities to provide fire protection in their areas.
Firemen had volunteered for the A.F.S. from all walks of life. Many of them before the war had started. But a lot more afterwards. It should be realized that none of them had experienced the danger heat and exhaustion of a wartime blitz.
The Wartime fire Station in Horsham, was next to Park House, and built in 1929.
Horsham Rural Parish Council paid an annual sum for the services of the Fire Brigades in the Parish.
The Auxiliary Fire service was started in the Horsham Urban District around the end of 1938. When an appeal was made for volunteers. There were only ten recruits at first and these were trained at the Fire Station. Mr. P. G. Dodd, who was stationed at Warnham and my father, told me that some training took place in Oxted Surrey, I believe at Hobbs Barracks. Mr Dodd also remembers being given a pass from the Horsham Council allowing him to enter any building (They never asked for it back after the war).
Shortly before the outbreak of war a sub station was opened at Jackson’s Garage, on the corner of Springfield Road. My father Robert Blake worked, as a Coach Trimmer at the Garage and this is where he joined the A. F. S.
When the war began, several men were posted to the main station and the sub station full time, Robert was one of them.
War was declared on SEPTEMBER 3RD 1939 at 11 a.m. and so begins this history.
Horsham’s Firemen were given a uniform; the jacket of that was single breasted and offered little protection from heat and sparks. (Double-breasted jackets were introduced later) To this was added a water proof, a pair of leggings, Wellington boots, and a tin hat,
The men were divided into three watches red, white and blue each worked for 48 hours on and 24 hours off. Before the N.F.S took over they looked after the watch room themselves, but this meant that when they were called out to an incident, the watch room was left unattended. After they became the National Fire Service, women took over the jobs of watch room attendant, cooks and secretaries.
The Fire Engines were bright red, this made them stand out, and rather too well so they were painted a dull gray, even their brass fittings were painted. They started with a Bedford, and old Dennis pump and a Pyrene Pulsometor, which they were supposed to be able to slide off the trailer and carry to the incident, but in was difficult to maneuver and extremely heavy and awkward. 50 foot of rubber-lined hose was also carried; this hose worked the best allowing the water through quickly. The canvas hose of which they had 75 foot was a very course material with a much narrower pipe, which restricted the water more.
Water was taken from anywhere, streams, rivers paddling pools, swimming pools and garden ponds; I have also been told of one occasion when the bomb crater itself provided water to extinguish a fire. They also had an old ford lorry fitted with a canvas tank on the back, it was known as the Dam lorry and held about 1,000 gallons of water when full.
Canvas Dams or surface tanks were constructed and filled ready for use, at many sights around the town. One was on the Carfax, another down the Bishopric, one by the Iron Bridge. Each of these held about 10,000 gallons of water, and they were checked and filled regularly so that they were always ready for use, should an emergency arise.
Later pumps were installed in the village sub-stations including Crawley, Cowfold, Broadbridge heath, and Manning’s Heath, and Roffey. These also had to be serviced weekly by Horsham men.
In the beginning the men slept on the station floor, between the Fire engines. And some, in the hayloft, which was near to Park House. Then they collected wooden grocery boxes and built themselves a hut, just inside the park; they lined it with plasterboard and covered the roof with felt. There was also an allotment, my father was one of the men that looked after it, and supposedly it was to demonstrate how much food could be grown on a small patch of land. I believe it was situated near to where the tennis courts are now.
Apart from their ordinary duties, Horsham Firemen assisted the local community in many ways. They organized a number of social functions and lent a hand in running Fetes and Functions for many worthy causes. Each Christmas the children of whole and part time fire men in the town have been given a party at the fire Station, and toys have been made for them by the personnel.
They had a savings group at the Station, and the average monthly collection for the Red Cross Penny a week Fund was about 30/- £1.50p
Co-operation between the N.F.S. and the other Civil Defence Services was always friendly and combined exercises were frequently held. Troops and Home Guard personnel benefited by their instruction in elementary fire fighting, which was given by the Horsham firemen.
The men were paid about £3.00 a week and NO overtime. Once they had arrived at the incident, they stayed until all was made safe.
I have found one report that. Leading Fireman Sewell received phosphorous burns on his arms when he was engaged at an enemy action fire at Warnham. I have been unable to place when or where exactly this happened. |
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No. 5
PUBLIC INFORMATION LEAFLET
READ THIS CAREFULLY AND KEEP IT FOR REFERENCE
FIRE PRECAUTIONS IN WAR TIME
ISSUED FROM THE LORD PRIVY SEAL’S OFFICE
AUGUST 1939
WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IN WAR?
It is probable that in an air attack on this country an enemy would make use of firebombs. The object would be not only to
destroy property but also to create panic.
A large number of these bombs might be dropped in a small space. A large proportion of them would fall in gardens, streets
and open spaces where they would burn out without doing much damage. But in a built up area some would fall on the roofs of
houses. One of these houses might be YOURS.
HOME FIRE FIGHTERS.
However strong the fire brigade might be an outbreak of many fires all close together and beginning at the same time would
be more than it could successfully deal with unless the householder himself and his family took the first steps in defending
their home.
In Civil Defence EVERYBODY has apart to play. This is especially true of fire fighting. In every house there should be one
or more people ready to tackle a firebomb. So read what follows; read it again and again, make the preparations, which are
advised and see that everyone in your house knows exactly what to do. Then you will be able to protect your own home and the
homes of your neighbors For once a fire gets out of control you cannot tell how fast it may spread. All large fires start
as small ones.
THE FIRE BOMB
The ordinary firebomb is not in the least like a high explosive bomb. It may well weigh as little as two pounds or so. It
may not explode at all, but will blaze up and may scatter burning material in all directions.
It will go through any ordinary house roof if dropped from a sufficient height, but a small bomb will probably come to rest
on the first boarded floor below the roof. Fires will therefore break out mainly in roof spaces, attics and upper story's.
For a time after the bomb has burned for about a minute it should be possible to get near enough to get the bomb under control
before it does further mischief.
HOW TO DEAL WITH A FIRE
There will be two things to deal with - the bomb itself and the fire or fires it has started. Each of these may have to be
tackled in different ways, but the main thing is to stop the fire from spreading.
A fire started by a bomb is just like an ordinary fire, and water is the best means of putting it out. ACT QUICKLY. Every
minute you loose make your job more difficult.
HOW TO DEAL WITH A BOMB
If you throw water on a burning bomb there is a danger of the bomb scattering burning fragments in all directions, and you
may do more harm than good. If, however, the water can be applied in the form of a fine spray it will cause the bomb to burn
away quickly and it will generally be possible to get it under control. For this purpose the stirrup hand pump, with a special
nozzle producing jet or spray, according to requirements, is the best appliance. At first you should direct the water on and
around the fire, rather than on the bomb. This will prevent the fire spreading and will also make it easier to approach the
bomb.
If you have no stirrup hand pump available, sand could be used to cover the bomb. This will not extinguish it, but you should
be able to scoop up the remains of the bomb, drop them in a bucket containing about four inches of sand, and remove the bucket
to a safe place.
If you find it difficult to enter the roof space or room because of the heat or smoke, crawl on the floor and keep your face
as low as possible. The air will be cooler and much clearer near the floor, and you will be able to breathe easily and see
where you are going in places where you could do neither standing up.
Remember that, even if you cannot tackle the bomb itself but can prevent the spread of fire, your object will have been achieved.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO NOW.
1 Clear your roof spaces and attics of any ‘’old junk’’ that you have collected there. See that you have nothing there that
will easily catch fire and nothing that would prevent you getting at the burning bomb.
2 Make sure that you can get easily into your attic or roof space.
3 Have ready at least four large buckets, a shovel or scoop, preferably with a long handle, and a fair quantity of sand or
dry earth. Provide also what appliances you can; if possible a stirrup hand pump with the special nozzle giving either a jet
of water for playing on a fire, or a spray for dealing with the bomb itself. Failing this, a garden syringe would be useful,
or even old blankets soaked in water.
4 MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THE EMERGENCY FIRE BRIGADE ARRANGEMENTS IN YOUR NEIBOURHOOD so that you can send for help if you want
it. Your air raid warden or a member of the fire Brigade or Auxiliary Fire Service will give you all the information you want.
IF THERE SHOULD BE A THREAT OF WAR ACT AT ONCE AS FOLLOWS:
1. Fill at least two large buckets with water and ‘see that they are kept filled’. During an air raid, you cannot rely on
getting water from domestic taps, because all the supply may be needed by the Fire Brigade. Have a bath or tank also kept
full of water to refill the buckets in case of need. Put the buckets and other appliances, if you have any, on or near the
top floor.
2. . Have two or more buckets half filled with sand - one to use in controlling the bomb and the other for putting the bomb
into when you have scooped it up.
3. Tell the members of you household what they must do and see that they understand their duties. While one person might be
able to deal with the situation it is tackled promptly, two or even three would be better. If a hand pump has been provided
and three people are available, one should tackle the fire; another should pump while the third should bring supplies of water.
4. In a small house the sound of a bomb striking the roof would give adequate warning anywhere. In a large house it may be
necessary to have a watcher on or near the top floor. He should if possible have a whistle to summon help. See that all doors,
which need not be open, are kept shut. If a fire cannot be quickly got under control someone must call a fire patrol or report
to the air raid warden or a policeman, according to the local fire brigade arrangements.
IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO GIVE FIXED RULES TO MEET ALL CASES OF FIRE CAUSED BY BOMBS, BUT STUDY THE ADVICE GIVEN ABOVE, DECIDE
WHAT YOU WOULD DO AND PRACTICE IT UNTIL EVERYONE IN YOUR HOUSE KNOWS THE PART HE OR SHE HAS TO PLAY. THEN YOU WILL BE PREPARED
TO FACE THE SITUATION CALMLY AND WITH CONFIDENCE.
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