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Herefordshire’s Emergency Planners are to bring “death and carnage” to the county – but don’t worry, there’ll be no casualties and there won’t be a drop of blood in sight!
As part of the on-going programme to make sure all those who would deal with the aftermath of a major disaster can effectively co-ordinate their roles, a multi-agency training exercise is to be held in Hereford next week.
Those attending include representatives from Network Rail, British Transport Police, West Mercia Police, the Fire and Ambulance Services, Herefordshire Council, Herefordshire PCT and the voluntary sector.
“We hope for the best, but plan for the worst,” said Geoff Haskell, Herefordshire Council’s Emergency Planning Manager.
“We always hope it won’t happen, but we could face a major disaster in Herefordshire and this kind of exercise ensures that all those involved in dealing with it do so in a professional and efficient way,” he added.
The exercise – which will take place at the Three Counties Hotel on Thursday, October 16 - will involve a 30ft long model railway, complete with nearby offices, factories, schools, road network….and a train crash.
Those attending the exercise will be briefed shortly before seeing the scene for the first time – they will then have to carry out their roles representing their organisation.
“This involves everything from setting up a location to assess the injured, where to store any dead bodies and where to arrange press briefing for reporters at the scene.
“These exercises make us think through situations every carefully and they often throw up scenarios which we wouldn’t think about unless we were actually going through the incident for real.
“They’re essential planning tools to ensure all the key players are ready to go and know their roles should we have a major incident in the county,” added Geoff.
Later this month a regional meeting of CERMIG – Co-ordination of Emergency Response Major Incident Group – is to be hosted in Hereford.
“This exercise and the regional meeting have not been planned with any specific threat of a specific incident. They’re part of an ongoing programme of activities to ensure the safety and well-being of county folk should we have an emergency in the county,” added Geoff.
Emergency Planning Exercise
Herefordshire’s Emergency Planners are to bring “death and carnage” to the county – but don’t worry, there’ll be no casualties and there won’t be a drop of blood in sight!
As part of the on-going programme to make sure all those who would deal with the aftermath of a major disaster can effectively co-ordinate their roles, a multi-agency training exercise is to be held in Hereford next week.
Those attending include representatives from Network Rail, British Transport Police, West Mercia Police, the Fire and Ambulance Services, Herefordshire Council, Herefordshire PCT and the voluntary sector.
“We hope for the best, but plan for the worst,” said Geoff Haskell, Herefordshire Council’s Emergency Planning Manager.
“We always hope it won’t happen, but we could face a major disaster in Herefordshire and this kind of exercise ensures that all those involved in dealing with it do so in a professional and efficient way,” he added.
The exercise – which will take place at the Three Counties Hotel on Thursday, October 16 - will involve a 30ft long model railway, complete with nearby offices, factories, schools, road network….and a train crash.
Those attending the exercise will be briefed shortly before seeing the scene for the first time – they will then have to carry out their roles representing their organisation.
“This involves everything from setting up a location to assess the injured, where to store any dead bodies and where to arrange press briefing for reporters at the scene.
“These exercises make us think through situations every carefully and they often throw up scenarios which we wouldn’t think about unless we were actually going through the incident for real.
“They’re essential planning tools to ensure all the key players are ready to go and know their roles should we have a major incident in the county,” added Geoff.
Later this month a regional meeting of CERMIG – Co-ordination of Emergency Response Major Incident Group – is to be hosted in Hereford.
“This exercise and the regional meeting have not been planned with any specific threat of a specific incident. They’re part of an ongoing programme of activities to ensure the safety and well-being of county folk should we have an emergency in the county,” added Geoff.