Description: Intertitle; 'They Waited'

Shot on an empty yard, bordered by a high timber fence, behind which we can see the back of a row of terraced houses. There are blankets, ropes draped over a metal fence and a pile of sandbags piled high up against it. There a five men in shirts and trousers sitting in deckchairs in front of the wall of sandbags. One man has his double breasted jacket on with brass buttons, whilst another man has a peaked cap pulled down over his face. Some are asleep and others are reading books. There is a bicycle propped up behind them against the sandbags.

A man carrying a kettle and a large white metal jug walks past the sandbag wall, into the open yard, towards the timber fence and terraced houses. He has rolled up shirt sleeves and is wearing braces. A boy runs past in the background in the yard. Three men are in deckchairs. One is reading, the other tow are asleep. This shot is quite close. We can see that the man wearing the fireman's jacket also has waterproof trousers on. We then see a shots of other men slumped and asleep in deckchairs.

A group of men in fire officer uniforms stand by a fire engine. A fireman is sawing a large piece of timber. The film is overexposed and slightly out of focus. Close up of an older man's face with a peaked fire hat on. He has buttoned epaullettes. Groups of the AFS stand around, we see more sawing. A man in front of a vehicle is reading a book in a deckchair. There is a general feeling that we are waiting for something to happen.

Intertitle: Keeping Up to Scratch With A Drill

4 men with tin helmets and uniforms rush past with a water tank on wheels and hoses. They take the hoses of the carriage and join them together. We can see houses and tenement flats in the background and a wall of sandbags. Two of the men run fast unravelling hoses as they go. We see the AFS with water hoses in what looks like common ground. There are aiming water sprays going up into the trees.

A man in an office answers the phone and takes notes. There is sheet of paper with a message on it. The paper look like a formal 'record' sheet. It says 'No.4 Station. Air Raid message yellow'. The AFS in helmets and with shoulder bags walk out past the sandbags, others run fast pulling a water carriage/canon. The slogan 'Take Cover' rolls down across the screen which is filled with a shot of the sky and a pole with a loudspeaker on it. It creates the impression that an air raid siren is sounding. Shots of the AFS - who strangely look like they are relaxing rather than reacting. One man is in a deckchair, another is smoking a pipe.

AFS with tin helmets on are looking up and pointing to the sky. Children and women are standing together and pointing to the sky. We see three aircraft in formation high up in the sky. Then we see aircraft smoke trails in the sky. They are circular in shape. A toy aeroplane of a German plane is on fire on the ground.

We are back in the office, where a man in answering the phone. A title board fills the screen. On it is says 'Yellow, Purple, Red. Siren Sounding. All Clear'. Members of the AFS are seen in uniform running out with their helmets and bags on. They run to a fleet of waiting fire cars/engines with ladders and drapes on their roof. They have running boards and spare tires on the outside. Like American gangsters cars! We see the vehicles driving away, pulling a water cannon/tank with controls on the back. Their is a row of terraced cottages/houses nearby in the background. We are in the vehicle driving through the streets. The area has the appearance of a 'garden suburb' estate.

There is a set up shot of fire seen through a window. It says Midland Bank on the outside. We see a fire hose being unfurled and attached to the water supply on the carriage. We then see men climbing up a ladder as if at the scene of the 'Midland' Bank fire. Very contrived. There are several quick sequences of AFS vehicles pulling out and the man in the office on the phone - attempting to build up a sense of atmosphere and drama. The water canon has a sign on it 'Scammell Lorries Trailer Pump'. We see a large spray of water from a fire hose filling the screen with a tree in the background. There a more shots of the AFS carrying ladders and pulling up the sections to give the ladders their full height.

There is then a sequence of stock(?) Blitz footage, intercut with the AFS carrying ladders etc, to create the impression that the AFS are involved in firefighting during the Blitz, at this level. There is a newspaper page with the heading - 'What Happened Nazi Mine laying Plane Blew Up' and then footage of the newsprint describing the destruction and fires caused by this. Beautiful stock shots of the London during the blitz incl St Pauls, extended ladders and exhausted fire crew. Cover of the Picture Post with firefighters on the front.

Back at the AFS headquarters - one of the vehicles is backing into a space, whilst men standby attending to another vehicle. We then see some of the crew, still in their jackets and waterproof trousers, back in the deckchairs by the wall of sandbags. A group of AFS men, (perhaps one is the Captain, as he seems to have some medals on his jacket), are attending to the water trailer carriage.