§ Mr. Toucheasked the Home Secretary whether he is aware of the inadequate accommodation and sanitary arrangements provided for the Auxiliary Fire Service at Reigate whilst on duty; and whether he will take steps to improve these conditions?
§ Mr. H. MorrisonI am aware of the inadequacy of some of the accommodation provided by local authorities for the Auxiliary Fire Service but, particularly since-the institution of the National Fire Service. Regional Commissioners have been making special efforts to bring the accommodation and amenities up to a reasonable standard. The rate of progress is much slower than I could have wished because of the shortage of materials and labour, but arrangements have recently been made for the large supplies of prefabricated huts to be made available and these should make a substantial contribution towards meeting deficiencies. I understand that the main station at Reigate is amongst those marked down by the Regional Commissioner for early attention.
§ Mr. Grovesasked the Home Secretary what steps have been taken to ensure that the number of fire-fighters in evacuated coastal towns, such as Ramsgate and Margate, are sufficient to deal with the extensive conflagrations which might be caused by deliberate enemy attack; and what steps have been taken to guide the exodus of the remaining inhabitants if their homes should be burnt down?
§ Mr. MorrisonThe special position of these towns has been taken into account in the allocation of the available man-power to the National Fire Service. As regards the second part of the Question, persons bombed out of their homes and having nowhere to go would be942W guided by police and wardens to the rest centres.