Just over 160 people on Thursday 20th March were involved in an Emergency Services training exercise at The Deep in Hull to test the Police, Fire and Ambulance response and preparedness should a major incident take place.
Humberside Police, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service and Yorkshire Ambulance Service have been working alongside hosts, The Deep, for months in the planning of the training exercise, which was agreed to be planned around a marauding terrorist attack (MTA).
Chief Inspector Tim Harrison, coordinating the event for the police, said: “Whilst there is no new or increased threat to our area, it is essential we take practical and precautionary measures wherever possible to enhance the security and effectiveness of our services in dealing with a major incident.
“The emergency services who cover the Humberside area are committed to providing the best possible protection to its communities. Routine and pre-planned exercises such as these are a vital part of reviewing our contingency plans and training for our officers and staff.
“This type of exercise provides an invaluable opportunity for us to develop and strengthen our combined response in the event of a major incident occurring in our region.
“I’d like to thank The Deep who have played a major part in the planning and provided their facilities for the exercise to take place whilst offering support and assistance throughout.
“I’d also like to thank each and every one of our ‘Hey! Volunteers’ who have been pivotal as role players and making sure the training was a great success”.
Steve Duffield, Area Manager of Emergency Response, said: “Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, alongside our emergency service partners, is dedicated to keeping our communities safe. Training exercises like this help us strengthen our plans and make sure our staff are fully prepared to respond to major incidents if they happen.
“This has been a fantastic opportunity to train in such a unique location. A huge thank you to everyone at The Deep for their amazing support, as well as to everyone involved in the planning, providing facilities, and making this valuable training possible.”
Owen Hayward, Head of Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) and Special Operations at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: “Multi-agency live training exercises provide a safe environment for everyone to practise their skills and simulate partnership working at a major incident. This exercise has provided a great opportunity for emergency service colleagues to come together, and we have taken away valuable learning that we can use to refine our processes and approaches to the many challenging scenarios we may be faced with in the future.”
Chief Executive for The Deep, Katy Duke, said: “As a unique setting, The Deep was able to provide a venue for some great learning opportunities for the emergency services taking part in the training exercise last night. We were delighted to be involved and to test our own operational procedures”.