Safety Measures in Public Shelters
Office of Civil Defense
1963
With the implementation of the National Fallout Shelter Program in late 1961, teams of architects and engineers employed by the federal government toured the United States in search of existing buildings capable of offering protection from radioactive fallout. Once a structure was found to meet qualifications established by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), it was marked with shelter signs and stocked with supplies necessary for survival. When these initial steps were complete, however, responsibility fell upon local authorities to organize and train volunteers to staff each shelter in the wake of an enemy attack with nuclear
weapons. The process of organizing a proper shelter staff and the best method for organizing entry into a public shelter were the subjects of motion pictures produced by the Office of Civil Defense in 1963. Each of those films documents the role of safety manager, who must protect shelter occupants from conventional dangers like fire and collapse, while also maintaining peace and order in the chaotic post-attack environment. Later that same year, a separate film detailing the responsibilities of the safety manager was released by the Office of Civil Defense under the title Safety Measures in Public Shelters. (1)
The safety manager's duties begin well in advance of any emergency. He (all films and literature assume this role will be filled by a man) must familiarize himself with the floor plan of the shelter, carefully noting any fire hazards and potential alternate exits. A suit-and-tied man enters a model shelter and examines his Operations Chart and lockbox. This same actor would also play Bill Collins, the gruff shelter manager in Public Shelter Organization and Staff. After an attack, the safety manager must control the door, preventing any dangerous items from entering the shelter. In a fascinating example of post-attack bureaucracy, any
prohibited items are to be kept in a lockbox and their owners given a receipt to reclaim after the shelter stay has ended. This process is examined in detail in the 1963 OCD production Planning for Public Shelter Entry. This initial step would no doubt aid the safety manager and his team of volunteers in another important assignment, maintaining peace and order in the chaotic shelter environment.
Besides these routine tasks, the safety manager must be ready for any emergency which may arise. The safety manager in the film inspects shelves of tools which will be needed to fight fires and excavate from the shelter in the event of a building collapse. In one harrowing photo shown on screen, an man uses a pickax to dig through portions of a fallen shelter roof. Should parts of the shelter collapse, the safety team must coordinate with radiological monitors to determine which areas of the shelter are most protected from fallout and whether those areas are structurally sound. This is also depicted on screen when shelter
occupants are checked for radiation while shielding their faces from dust collecting in the air. After checking firefighting equipment, the safety manager concludes his shelter is secure, turns out the lights and exits the building. Like many civil defense films from the 1960's which discussed practical advice regarding shelter life, Safety Measures in Public Shelters was not deemed obsolete at the end of the decade but could instead be rented or purchased from government catalogs well into the 1970s. (2)
Safety Measures in Public Shelters may be viewed, in its entirety, HERE.
References
1. Index of Army Pictures for Public Non-Profit Use. Department of the Army. May, 1975. P. 34.
2. Index of Army Pictures for Public Non-Profit Use. Department of the Army. May, 1975. P. 34.