[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Putnam) 3-3-1942 (C). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
In order to further national defense and safeguard and protect
life and property within the City of Putnam in case of enemy air raids
or attacks or threatened air raids or attacks or for the purpose of
trial blackouts or other trials or tests to prepare to meet such air
raids or attacks, all persons within the City are required to comply
with the rules, regulations and orders pertaining thereto by the Army,
Navy or State Defense Council, or by any person or organization acting
by lawful authority of them or any of them; provided, however, that
warnings of the beginning and termination of the period of any such
eventuality shall be given throughout the City by audible signals.
All police and firemen and all members of the auxiliary police
and fire forces of the City are hereby authorized and directed to
enforce blackout plans and defense measures and the rules, regulations
and orders pertaining thereto during such periods and summarily to
compel compliance therewith. In cases of immediate threat of enemy
action, they may abate conditions dangerous to the public safety.
The Mayor is authorized to establish, promulgate and enforce such local rules, regulations and orders with respect to such periods not inconsistent with the rules, regulations and orders referred to in § 193-1 hereof, as he shall deem necessary or appropriate to effect the spirit and intent of this chapter.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter or,
during any period of blackout and defense, any of the rules, regulations
and orders pertaining thereto or who shall fail or refuse during any
such period to comply with any instructions lawfully given by any
police or fireman or any member of the auxiliary police or fire forces
of the City, or who shall obstruct or interfere with any such officer
in the performance of his duties shall be fined not exceeding $100
or imprisoned not more than two months, or both.
The public warning signal of air raids shall be a series of
short, intermittent blasts of horns or sirens or both for a duration
of six minutes; the "all clear" signal shall be two short strokes
similar to the "all out" fire alarm signal of the Putnam Fire Department.
A.
Such public signals shall be sounded by all persons having custody
of said horns (sirens) upon instructions from the Chief Air Raid Warden
or his deputy.
B.
The Chief Air Raid Warden or his deputy shall issue the instructions
for the sounding of the public air raid signals only upon orders from
the Army or Navy received either directly from Army or Navy headquarters
or received through the District Warning Center of the official Air
Raid Warning System.
After the sounding of the public warning signal and until the
sounding of the "all clear" signal:
A.
No person may travel upon, use, enter upon or remain upon any public
highway or street, except persons upon active duty as members of the
military forces, public officials, police officers, members of state
and municipal services, members of civilian defense emergency services,
and members of authorized transportation, plant protection, hospital
and public utility services, and except persons whose presence upon
the highways or streets is necessary on a mission directly connected
with the public safety or who have been specifically authorized by
the local or state police.
B.
All persons not in the classifications listed in Subsection A shall immediately seek the nearest available shelter or cover and shall remain in such shelter or cover until the "all clear" signal has sounded.
C.
The operators of all vehicles, except those required for use by persons in the classifications listed in Subsection A, shall immediately bring their vehicles to a stop as far as possible on the right-hand portion of the highway or street, shall turn off the engines of same, shall vacate same, leaving the doors unlocked, and shall seek shelter as required in Subsection B above.
Upon the sounding of the public warning signal during the night
season and until the sounding of the "all clear," or upon the order
of the Army or Navy without the sounding of the public warning signal
and until the Army or Navy order shall have been lifted:
A.
The lights of all buildings shall immediately be extinguished or
completely obscured by the owners, operators, or tenants of such buildings
so as not to be visible from outside such buildings, except that exterior
exit lights of apartments, commercial buildings, factories, institutions,
theaters and buildings used for public assembly may remain lighted
if such lights are so shaded or shielded that no light source shall
be visible from above the horizontal and provided that in the case
of electric lighting no lamp shall emit more than a standard blackout
lamp or a ten-watt inside frosted lamp.
B.
The operators of all vehicles shall immediately stop and extinguish the lights of such vehicles, except that vehicles in use by persons in the classifications listed in § 193-7A shall be permitted to continue operation using an emergency identifying light of a type approved by the State Defense Council.
C.
All streetlights, all traffic control and traffic warning signals,
all exterior illuminated signs and displays, all exterior night lights
and all interior night lights visible from the outside of buildings
shall be immediately extinguished by the person or persons in control
thereof.
D.
The owners, operators, tenants or lessees of all exterior illuminated
signs and displays and of all exterior night lights and all interior
night lights visible from outside of buildings shall install accessible
switches and shall be responsible for the extinguishment of all such
lights, signs or displays.
All fires, chimneys, furnaces and other devices emitting light
or steam shall be so shaded or shielded by the persons in control
thereof that no evidence thereof shall be visible during a blackout.
Adequate preparation for the control and obscuration of such light
and steam shall be undertaken by such persons immediately upon the
promulgation of these regulations.
