Red Cross Disaster Unit Placed On 'Alert' Basis For Practice This Week Rehearsaal for Tragedy Will Be Called at Surprise Hours 6/15/41 The disaster committee of Weber county chapter, American Red Cross, always on the alert, will flash into action some time Monday or Tuesday in its first “fire drill.” Every phase of a disaster will be simulated, from the original occurrence through the organization of rescue and relief squads, the setting up of a central relief office and feeding and clothing of sufferers, to the final details of clean-up. Hour Is Secret Leaders of the sub-committees, who know the drill is coming but do not know when, will be notified by telephone, and the largest organization in the city will swing into immediate action. In the offices of city commissioners, general chairman of the Red Cross disaster committee, A. T. Barrett, and his assistant, Claude Armstrong, will establish central headquarters, while C. J. Olsen, chairman of survey, travels to the point of the mock tragedy to de¬termine the extent of damage and needs in the way of relief and med¬ical attention. In the office of the mayor will lie the heart of the organization, the headquarters of Leonard G. Diehl, charged with direction of communication and transportation. Telephones, radios, telegraph serv¬ices, trains, trucks, private autos, motorcycles, bicycles, messengers and Boy Scouts will report to Mr. Diehl for orders. His job is the coordination of movement between the various other committees, the provision of ambulances and supply trucks, the establishing of commun¬ication with outside cities if the disaster is great enough to cut Ogden off from the world. Flag Marks Place The place of the disaster will be designated by the flying of the Red Cross flag. At this point, res¬cue crews, directed by Louis H. Griffin, will assemble to search for survivors of the catastrophe and to recover bodies of fatalities. Here too will be the field hospital under direction of Dr. R. L. Draper, where first aid will be furnished until the injured can be removed to more permanent quarters. Nurses, both in the field hospital and at local hospitals where the injured can be taken will be directed by Mrs. E. L. Miner. C. H. B. Seybert and Lynn B. Cornish are respectively charged with providing food and clothing for the "refugees" while E. R. Buckner is to provide shelter for the homeless. Every person who comes under care of the Red Cross setup must be registered. T. Leland Shreeve is in charge of registration and information. Appeal for Aid In the event of such a catastro¬phe as the committee is rehearsing in this "fire drill," newspapermen, photographers and newsreel cam¬eramen would, of course, come into the area at the first opportunity. Placing of these men under proper control will be the job of William F. Smiley, in charge of the com¬mittee on public information. Also under this committee would be preparation of news items telling the extent of the disaster and mak¬ing appeals to the outside for help. All the activities of these chair¬men will be backed by their com¬mitteemen, representatives of in-dustries and professions most adaptable to the type of work ex¬pected of them in the event of disaster. Their duties have been as¬similated by the chairmen, who have for months plotted means of most effectively combatting trag¬edy. To Test Weaknesses The surprise drill will be for the purpose of seeing how thorough th preparation has been and to un-cover any weaknesses in the or¬ganization. Findings of the drill will be discussed at a dinner to be held by the disaster committee in the near future. A national Red Cross representative will be on hand and organizers of the Salt Lake City disaster committee will be invited to learn as much as possible the needs as revealed by the test here.