Fire-watching and Compulsion
In every region in the country the Regional Commissioner has to be satisfied that adequate arrangements have been made for detecting incendiary bombs and fighting fires. To fulfil its responsibility the Corporation of Manchester has decided that the compulsory registration order for fire-watchers must be applied, and Manchester men between eighteen and thirty, including those in reserved occupations, are required to register on April 5th and 6th. Only members of the forces (which include Home Guard and Observer Corps), constables, blind persons, and mental patients are exempt, but there are certain grounds on which other persons may apply for ex- emption. Fire parties to the number of more than seven thou- and in all will have to be organised or brought up to strength, ,0 that every part of the city, including the residential areas, :ay be adequately protected; the existing volunteers in officially enrolled fire parties will be brought within the new organisa- tion. Manchester has had a sufficiently severe experience of bombing to know what it may be called upon to deal with, and is performing no less than its duty in ensuring that the preparations for watching and fire-fighting are complete. No other region should be allowed to wait to learn its lesson. In auy area where the voluntary fire-fighting system is not fully equal to any emergency the Regional Commissioner should insist that compulsion be applied.
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