CIVIL DEFENSE: Realistic

Lima, Ohio (pop. 49,880) was all set this week for a realistic air-raid test. Twenty-five cops were ready to explode black powder bombs all around the city, ambulances were standing by, and civil-defense workers were waiting to care for the injured. Then the realism got too thick. A bomb exploded prematurely, fatally injuring a policeman. Then another bomb went off ahead of time, and another cop was hurt. An ambulance screaming out on a make-believe run crashed into two cars, sending six victims to the hospital. Because of a mixup, no civil-defense workers were present to give first aid. Otherwise, said Police Chief Kermit Westbay, the alert was highly successful.