Adapting and Equipping Vans an _orries for Air-raid Rescue Squads
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AN important part of the equipment of our home defence is the fleet of vehicles which is used by local authorities for service in connection with air-raid damage. Each vehicle usually carries a squad
of six to eight men whose duties consist of rescuing persons trapped in a bombed building, dealing with water, gas and electric light connections, to prevent waste or spread of fire, also the work, in its various stages, of clearing away debris and the temporary shoring-up required.
The van •or lorry used for such service usually carries, in addition to the rescue squad, ladders, poles, lengths of stout squared timber, trestles, crowbars, jacks, spades, shovels, axes, saws and other wood and metal-working tools, a wheel-, barrow, hurricane lamps, gas clothes and one or more stretchers as well as a first-aid cabinet.
Ladders may be carried flat on hooks, against the outside of the vehicle, and lengthy articles, such as poles and timber, on the cross-bars of gantries, either at the sides, or in the centre of the vehicle. The roof of a van may be -used for a similar
purpose. Accommodation for the squad of A.R.P. workers is provided on the tops of lengthwise lockers, inside which the majority of the tools is stowed.
The open type of rescue' vehicle is obtained by the addition of lockers and gantries to an existing platform, fixed or hinge-sided lorry. Covered vehicles are made by adapting boxvans, or by the, addition, above the A24 waist level, of a superstructure to a sided lorry.
If a platform lorry be selected then laddets and poles may be carried in the middle, the shorter items being laid on the floor and the longer ones on the cross-bars of the gantries. Sufficient room is available on each side of this centre loading space foF a lengthwise seatlocker, whilst there is foot space for the men sitting on it.
Rigid ity of Gantry Pillars In order to ensure the rigidity of the gantry. pillars they should be secured to the bottom framework, or cross-bearers, of the lorry. In some instances, it may be necessary to add a short member to the bottom framework, to which the foot of the pillar is bolted. Further support for these pillars is affordect,by the backs of the lockers, whilst, at the rear, the top of the pillar may be held by a mild-steel diagonal stay extending to the end of the hind cross-bearer.
The seat locker may be a complete unit with its own bottom, or the last-named is formed by the platform floor. Access to the locker is at the top, or front. The locker with a fall-front is to be preferred for a platform lorry, because the contents of the open locker are easily seen from the ground. Furthermore, both the open lid and the top of the locker are available as space where, tools and equipment may be placed temporarily.
The back and ends of the locker are secured to wooden fillets. The ends of the locker may also be extended below the floor and screwed directly to the inside face of the crossbearers. Above the tops of the lockers the gantry pillars are connected by two or more boards, which keep the centre load in place and provide a back rest for the men.
The lockers may be the full length of the platform, or a front portion may be set apart for an upright locker, in which gas suits may be hung. This clothes locker does not encroach into the central loading space. Other lockers may be. provided across the front of the body, also under • the floor on each side of the hind wheel.
For a sided lorry, the lengthwise seat-lockers are arranged as in the case of a. platform lorry, or they can be built against the sides of the body. They are sufficiently wide to provide room to sit, as well as space for a narrow gantry between the sitting space and the sides of the body. A similar arrangement is often utilized for a van, or a lorry converted into a van.
A hinge-sided lorry can be converted into a van by bolting the end hinge-irons permanently to the corner pillars. A set of pillars is now required to support the cant-rails and cross-members of the roof frame wort. A stout, full-height corner pillar is fitted over the existing short pillar and is bolted to it.
Reinforcement -Arrangements Further reinforcement consists of a back plate which is secured to the hind cross-bearer with flaps running up each corner pillar. The side pillars, one of which may be a gantry pillar, are bolted inside the body side. If any pillar be set out immediately above a cross-bearer, then a
corner plate has to be bolted to the -back of the pillar and through the
floor to the cross-bearer.
A pair of gantry pillars is connected at the foot by a U-shaped plate, which is bolted on the inside of each pillar with the base of the plate secured to the cross-bearer, or
convenient step at the rear, or a pair of stirrup step-irons, with an ascend= ing handle on each side. In most instances, it is desirable to dispense with the tailboard, or any hind doors, because special protection of the load is unnecessary. Moreover, a tailboard usually interferes with the arrangement of the hind steps.
If the ends of the lockers be set back about 12 ins, from the rear of the body, then there is clear floor space for the full width of the -vehicle. This may be utilized to facilitate access, or to provide temporary seating space if it be necessary to carry an extra load on the tops of the lockers. A _front window opening, not necessarily glazed, may be provided for extra lighting.
When a roof load is carried a fixed rear ladder is provided. This may consist of an upright bolted to the top cross-rail and to the end of the locker below, with two or more rungs the ends of which are flapped and bolted to the corner pillar. Roof rails should be provided with cleats or similar devices, so that the load may be securely fastened.
One or more stretchers may be carried in metal slings in the centre immediately under the roof, whilst the space under the roof at the sides may be used for a shelf, or tray, where such items as gas clothing may be stowed.