Executive Order  No. 26: State civil defense structure reorganized; New areas and sectors established

WHEREAS, increases in the capabilities of potential enemies and the experience gained over the past four years has necessitated recent changes in the Civil Defense organization of the Government of the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, there is need to provide for the possibility that operations by the State Government may well be impeded during and following an attack; and

WHEREAS, there is, therefore, the necessity for changing and strengthening the field system of the Civil Defense organization of the Commonwealth:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Christian A. Herter, Governor of the Commonwealth, acting under the provisions of Acts of 1950, Chapter 639, and in particular Sections 4, 5, 7, 8, 16 and 20 thereof, and all other authority conferred upon me by law, do hereby issue this order as a necessary preparatory step in advance of actual disaster or catastrophe and as part of the comprehensive plan and program for the Civil Defense of the Commonwealth.

1. For purposes of Civil Defense there shall be established the following Areas and Sectors:

A. Area 1, consisting of the following Sectors:

• Sector 1A. The City of Boston.
• Sector 1B. Avon, Braintree, Canton, Cohasset, Dedham, Foxborough, Hingham, Holbrook, Hull, Medfield, Millis, Milton, Norfolk, Norwood, Quincy, Randolph, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Westwood, Weymouth.
• Sector 1C. Ashland, Brookline, Dover, Framingham, Natick, Needham, Newton, Sherborn, Sudbury, Watertown, Waltham, Wayland, Wellesley, Weston.
• Sector 1D. Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Burlington, Cambridge, Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, Somerville, Wilmington, Winchester, Woburn.
• Sector 1E. Everett, Lynnfield, Malden, Medford, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield.
• Sector 1F. Beverly, Chelsea, Danvers, Lynn, Marblehead, Middleton, Nahant, Peabody, Revere, Salem, Saugus, Swampscott, Wenham, Winthrop.
• Sector 1G. Amesbury, Andover, Billerica, Boxford, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Essex, Georgetown, Gloucester, Groveland, Hamilton, Haverhill, Ipswich, Lawrence, Lowell, Manchester, Merrimac, Methuen, Newbury, Newburyport, North Andover, Rockport, Rowley, Salisbury, Tewksbury, Topsfield, Tyngsborough, Westford, West Newbury.

B. Area 2, consisting of the following Sectors:

• Sector 2A. Acushnet, Attleboro, Berkley, Dartmouth, Dighton, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown, Marion, Mansfield, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, North Attleboro, Norton, Plainville, Raynham, Rehoboth, Rochester, Seekonk, Somerset, Swansea, Taunton, Wareham, Westport.
• Sector 2B. Abington, Bridgewater, Brockton, Carver, Duxbury, East Bridgewater, Easton, Halifax, Hanover, Hanson, Kingston, Lakeville, Marshfield, Middleboro, Norwell, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Rockland, Scituate, West Bridgewater, Whitman.
• Sector 2C. Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Chatham, Chilmark, Dennis, Eastham, Edgartown, Falmouth, Gay Head, Gosnold, Harwich, Mashpee, Nantucket, Oak Bluffs, Orleans, Provincetown, Sandwich, Tisbury, Truro, Wellfleet, West Tisbury, Yarmouth.

C. Area 3, consisting of the following Sectors:

• Sector 3A. The City of Worcester.
• Sector 3B. Bellingham, Blackstone, Douglas, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopedale, Hopkinton, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Northborough, North- bridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Upton, Uxbridge, Westborough, Wrentham.
• Sector 3C. Auburn, Brookfield, Charlton, Dudley, East Brookfield, Leicester, North Brookfield, Oxford, Southbridge, Spencer, Sturbridge, West Brookfield, Warren, Webster.
• Sector 3D. Barre, Berlin, Bolton, Boylston, Clinton, Hardwick, Holden, Hudson, Lancaster, Marlborough, Maynard, New Braintree, Oakham, Paxton, Princeton, Rutland, Sterling, Stow, West Boylston.
• Sector 3E. Acton, Ashburnham, Ashby, Athol, Ayer, Boxborough, Fitchburg, Gardner, Groton, Harvard, Hubbardston, Leominster, Littleton, Lunenburg, Pepperell, Petersham, Phillipston, Royalston, Shirley, Templeton, Townsend, Westminster, Winchendon.

D. Area 4, consisting of the following Sectors:

• Sector 4A. Brimfield, Chicopee, East Longmeadow, Hampden, Holland, Long- meadow, Ludlow, Monson, Palmer, Springfield, Wilbraham, Wales.
• Sector 4B. Agawam, Blandford, Granville, Holyoke, Montgomery, Russell, Southwick, Tolland, Westfield, West Springfield.
• Sector 4C. Amherst, Belchertown, Chester, Chesterfield, Cummington, Easthampton, Goshen, Granby, Hadley, Hatfield, Huntington, Middlefield, Northampton, Pelham, Plainfield, South Hadley, Southampton, Ware, Westhampton, Williamsburg, Worthington.
• Sector 4D. Ashfield, Bernardston, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Conway, Deerfield, Erving, Gill, Greenfield, Hawley, Heath, Leverett, Leyden, Montague, Monroe, New Salem, Northfield, Orange, Rowe, Shelburne, Shutesbury, Sunderland, Warwick, Wendell, Whately.
• Sector 4E. Adams, Alford, Becket, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Dalton, Egremont, Florida, Great Barrington, Hancock, Hinsdale, Lanesboro, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, Mt. Washington, New Ashford, New Marlboro, North Adams, Otis, Peru, Pittsfield, Richmond, Sandisfield, Savoy, Sheffield, Stockbridge, Tyringham, Washington, West Stockbridge, Windsor, Williamstown.

2. In each Area there shall be an Area Director and in each Sector there shall be a Sector Director, who shall in each case be appointed by the State Director of Civil Defense. The provisions of Acts of 1950, Chapter 639, Section 2 shall, so far as material, be applicable to such appointments. The State Director may also appoint or designate one or more Deputy or Alternate Area or Sector Directors who shall perform the duties and exercise the authority, simultaneously or successively, of an Area or Sector Director respectively, in the absence or disability of such Area or Sector Director.

3. Area and Sector Directors shall assist the State Director, within their respective Areas and Sectors, in carrying out the responsibilities of the State Director under Acts of 1950, Chapter 639, Section 2, and under any other provision of law or under any Executive Order, and shall have such additional responsibilities and authority as may be imposed or conferred herein or in any Executive Order heretofore or hereafter issued.

4. The Areas and Sectors established by this Order shall be effective immediately for purposes of planning, training and administration; for operational purposes such Areas and Sectors shall be effective on such date as may be determined by the State Director. Until such date, the Regions and Sectors established under the provisions of Executive Orders Numbers 3, 12 and 16 shall remain in existence for all Civil Defense operational purposes and Regional Directors and Sector Leaders shall continue to have and may exercise for such purposes the authority conferred by Executive Orders Numbers 3 to 8 inclusive and 10, 11, 12 and 16.

GIVEN at the Executive Chamber in Boston, this seventh day of January, in the year of our Lord, one thousand nine hundred and fifty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the one hundred and seventy-ninth.

By His Excellency the Governor,
Christian A. Herter

Edward J. Cronin
Secretary of the Commonwealth.