NEAFC 32nd Annual Conference.pdf - New England Association of ...

NEW ENGLAND ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEFS
before the A-Bombs were dropped, this ]?act had been demonstrated by
the British Royal Air Force, which had burned the central areas o£ most
o£ the ’German cities. Before the United States Army Air Forces dropped
the A-Bombs, they had burned 67 Japanese cities. Even persons who
knew these facts chose to ignore them."
The atomic bomb and the new hydrogen bombs are huge, incendiary devices,
among other things. They will start fires, from the immediate thermal
effect o£ the bomb, and by blasting disruption caused by knocking over stoves;.
breaking gas’. lines, and so forth.
While we hav~ had exaggerated accounts of the power of new weapons to
cause death and destruction, the bare truth about these bombs, is. sobering,
indeed. Let us discuss. ]~ora moment the blast effects.
The atomic bombs dropped over Japan havebeen rated the equivalent
of 20,000 tons of TNT. They are called 1 (x) bombs. Larger bombs are
merely multiples of this figure. Thus, a 2 (X) bomb has. the equivalent of
40,000 tons; an 8 (X) bomb, the equivalent of 160,000 tons, and a 50(X)
bomb, that o£ 1,000,000 tons. This is. also called a megaton bomb.
President Eisenhower has stated, oIficially, that existing atomic bombs: are
now 25 times larger than those exploded in Japan, and that hydrogen bombs,
which we have been hearing so much about, are in the megaton range.
In so far as blast effects, are concerned, the radius of destruction resulting .
from_ larger bombs does not increase in direct proportion to. the increase in size
of the bomb. This distance increases approximately as’ the cube root of the
ratio o£ the larger to the smaller bomb. Thus, if the bomb dropped was 1,000
times more powerful than the one at Hiroshima, the radius of destruction
would be the cube root of a thousand or ten times the radius, of destruction
which occurred at Hiroshima.
Great destructive bombs like the atomic and the hydrogen bomb are the
particular enemies of large concentrations of industry and population. We
dan assume that the size of the weapon an enemy chooses to aim at a certain
target will be governed by the size of the target. That, of necessity, would
eliminate, ]?or planning purposes anyway, the delivery Of these terrific weapons
on small communities, or cross roads village.
I suggest that for planning purposes the target areas, themselves select a
size bomb which will include between one-half and all of the built-up s urban
complex, in the zones of A, B, and C class damage. I suggest that two-thirds
of the built-up area is a practical working figure on which to hang your hats.
In an effort to destroy vital facilities more than one bomb might be used,
particularly on cities that are spread out over large areas.
As {or the small communities, they should in no way ~eel safe because
the use o]? such big bombs, would be wasteful, if aimed at them. You, of the
Fire Services, know more than any other, people how easy it is to set a destructive
fir.e, and you know, also, what the effect of a few incendiaries might be.
If you were not involved with fires yourselves, you must be prepared to help
the communities that are.
A complete organization of mutual aid assistance across, the country is
imperative, if we are going to do the best job possible in controlling the fires
that will result from enemy attack. . ..........
183