FEBRUARY 2010
VOLUME 11 | 1
ᔡ News: search and rescue teams and aid agencies respond to the Haiti earthquake ᔡ News: the response to the Cumbria floods ᔡ News: snow and ice test the UK’s emergency services ᔡ Profile: Amputees in Action – putting the ‘shock’ factor into simulation training ᔡ Response–SV – a profile of the newest ambulance designer and manufacturer ᔡ Civil Resilience: London 2012 security team look to learn lessons from the Winter Games ᔡ Vehicles and Equipment: conversions, in vehicle technology and conspicuity ᔡ Comms & IT: what’s new at BAPCO plus radio deals for Scottish mountain rescue teams and HART paramedics ᔡ Inter agency mass fatality management and advances in Disaster Victim Identification ᔡ A guide to some of the latest products and services available ISSN 1472-1090
www.mmcpublications.co.uk
CONTENTS | 1
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Regular features First Words It’s already been a busy year for the UK’s emergency services – what will the future hold?
3
News A busy year for the RNLI, LAS named Ambulance Service of the Year, Environment Agency launches flood product test centre and Dorset’s road safety campaign
6
Page 23 – RAF flying in to winch MRT team members to safety during the Cumbria floods
Contracts & People Lion Apparel wins welsh fire and rescue contract, VT Group wins Highways Agency fleet role and Soteria is the preferred bidder for the Search and Rescue – Helicopter programme
39
Who’s Who?
36
Amputees in Action – putting the ‘shock’ factor into simulation
Company Profile Response–SV, the UK’s newest and most technologically advanced ambulance designer and manufacturer
78
Technology New confidential network for Cambridgeshire Constabulary and address management solutions from Aligned Assets
62
Events An Events Diary lists the must attend shows of 2010 with focus on SAR, Workwear and Corporate Clothing and INTERSCHUTZ
93
Product Information
97
A guide to some of the latest products and services available
Last Words Remploy – breaking down employment barriers to win a £15m Home Office PPE contract
104
Photo: Cockermouth MRT
Inside this issue Civil Contingencies London 2012 security team look to learn lessons from the Winter Games, how airlines can help with Family Assistance Centres following a disaster and Exercise Harrier tests London’s multi agency response arrangements
73
Severe Weather Examples of how the UK’s emergency services continued to operate when heavy snow and ice caused major disruption across the UK in January
15
Vehicles & Vehicle Equipment What we can expect from Audi in 2010 – plus conversions, in vehicle technology and conspicuity
56
Communications & IT What to expect at BAPCO 2010, Scottish mountain rescue teams secure radio deal, intrinsically safe radios for HART paramedics and your chance to have a say on Interoperability
66
Cumbria Floods
Mass Fatalities
Accounts of the emergency response to November 2009’s severe floods in Cumbria, from various agencies including: Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team, The AA, Bay Search and Rescue, the Environment Agency, the RNLI, RSPCA, VT Group and RAF Search and Rescue
80
23
Inter agency mass fatality management and advances in Disaster Victim Identification
Plus
Public Order Nottinghamshire Police tested as rival demonstrating groups descend on the city centre
Collaboration
54
Firebuy lets a new framework agreement for flood and water rescue items such as PPe and rescue craft
Medical
35
How Southwest One provides shared services for its members plus a look at the OGC supported Emergency Services Sector Procurement Group
88
85
The work of the UK SAR Medical Group
Haiti The earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January demanded the largest search and rescue response to an earthquake incident in history – read first hand accounts of the response from ShelterBox, SARAID, UK International Search and Rescue and British Red Cross
43
Page 43 – How ShelterBox responded to assist the people of Haiti following January’s earthquake.
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FIRST WORDS | 3
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Volume No: 11 Date:
Issue No: 01 February 2010
Editor: David J. Holden MEng(Hons) davidholden@mmcpublications.co.uk Advertisement Manager: David Brown davidbrown@mmcpublications.co.uk Advertisement Sales: Carol Fox carolfox@mmcpublications.co.uk Circulation & Subscription Manager: Anne Ahier anne@mmcpublications.co.uk
IT/www Contact: Ceinwen Clarke ceinwen@mmcpublications.co.uk
Managing Director: David Brown Directors: John Clarke David Holden Colin Robinson Ceinwen Clarke (Sec.) Published by
Emergency Services (MMC) Ltd a division of Modern Media Communications Ltd Gresham House 54 High Street Shoreham by Sea West Sussex BN43 5DB United Kingdom Tel: Fax: e-mail: www:
+44(0)1273 453033 +44(0)1273 453085 info@mmcpublications.co.uk www.mmcpublications.co.uk
Distribution: EMERGENCY SERVICES TIMES is free of charge to officers and managers who are buyers or specifiers actively involved in the procurement of equipment or services within the emergency response industry and based in the UK and Irish Republic. All other categories of reader are invited to subscribe at £120.00 to UK addresses and £155.00 overseas. Single copy price £20.00 including post and packing. The articles within Emergency Services Times are copyright and are the property of the publisher Emergency Services (MMC) Ltd and cannot be reproduced in any media form without permission of the publisher. Application should be made in writing. Reprints of articles and advertisements are available, allow 28 days for delivery. PDF pages are available by email at £20.00 (+VAT) per page (€32.50, $33). Prices on application to the publisher. A reader enquiry service is available for readers to indirectly contact companies for further details on products and services advertised in this issue as well as editorial items mentioned. A postcard is inserted in this issue for returning to us or you may fax your enquiries with the numbers and your full address, telephone, fax on +44(0)1273 453085 Studio work by Keystrokes, Shoreham by Sea, West Sussex Tel: 01273 453300 keystrokes@btconnect.com
With floods, snow and earthquakes already – what does the rest of 2010 hold in store? Welcome to the latest issue of Emergency Services Times, the first of 2010. It is only three months since the last issue was published and the hugely successful Emergency Services Show took place in Stoneleigh – but what a three months they’ve been for emergency planners, responders and recovery agencies. The floods in Cumbria, the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, and the severe snow and ice that hit the UK in January have all tested the blue light sector and their partner agencies to the full. This issue includes: first hand accounts from responders to the Cumbria floods, including Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team (page 23), the Environment Agency (page 31), the RNLI (page 32) and RAF Search and Rescue (page 33); accounts from UK International Search and Rescue, and others, detailing their response to the Haiti earthquake (pages 43–51); plus a round up of multi agency working at its best during January’s snow, including: calling on the army for assistance in Kent (page 19); ambulance services using coastguard vehicles on the Isle of Wight (page 16); mutual aid agreements between West Yorkshire Police and the Police Service of Northern Ireland for loans of 4x4 vehicles (page 16); and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service dispatching an air ambulance via Fire Control (page 17). These incidents have all been approached with the professionalism the public has come to expect from our emergency services, who have all responded admirably to these extreme circumstances while continuing to protect the public, as they do every day. So what will the rest of 2010 hold in store? One thing for certain is that May’s expected General Election, and even more expected change of Government, will test our public services too, albeit in a completely different way. Proposed budget cuts will lead to the UK’s emergency services having to think smarter, to make less money go further while still maintaining the levels of service expected by the public. Framework agreements, shared services agreements, collaboration, national and regional procurement will all need to be considered and embraced. As such, this issue includes articles from Firebuy, on water rescue equipment frameworks (page 35),
Southwest One – a multi agency shared service capability (page 88) and Office of Government Commerce (OGC) on collaborative procurement in the fleet sector (page 90). I’d like to hear from organisations with similar agreements, collaborative projects and multi agency cost saving initiatives in place (e-mail davidholden@mmcpublications.co.uk). By bringing these practices to the attention of our readers I hope Emergency Services Times can play some small part in assisting our emergency services in their struggles with the purse strings. Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the 4000 visitors and 350 exhibitors for making last November’s Emergency Services Show such a resounding success. This year’s event will take place from 24–25 November, at Stoneleigh Park once again. Exhibitors have already started to book their places for fear of missing out (180 already at last count) and there’s still some eight months to go! The 2010 event promises to be the biggest and best yet so look out for the announcements when registration opens later this summer (www.ess2010.com). While I’m on the topic of exhibitions and conferences, the rest of 2010 also promises to bring a packed events season. Emergency Services Times will be attending all the old favourites and even some of the new. A full events programme is listed in the issue (pages 93 and 95) and if you’re going too, I’ll see you there. All the best for the year ahead. David Holden | Editor Emergency Services Times
E m e r g e n c y S e r v i c e s T i m e s Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 0
4 | A-Z
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Companies Company Name
Page No
3M............................................................................................................................................60 802 Global.........................................................................................................................66, 97 The AA....................................................................................................................................27 Abiom Communications Systems ........................................................................................66 ACPO-APA...............................................................................................................................7 ACTED ...................................................................................................................................43 ACTIVE Solutions Europe Ltd ...........................................................................................28 Aegis........................................................................................................................................97 Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre..........................................................................33 AES..........................................................................................................................................41 Agresso Limited.....................................................................................................................40 Airwave Solutions Ltd ....................................................................................................68, 70 Aligned Assets........................................................................................................................62 Amber Valley Borough Council .............................................................................................8 Ambulance Service Network ..................................................................................................8 American Red Cross ..............................................................................................................51 Amputees in Action Ltd .......................................................................................................36 Anderco Safety .......................................................................................................................58 Arnold Clark Coachbuilders.................................................................................................60 AS Training ............................................................................................................................35 AssetCo....................................................................................................................................35 AssetCo Integrated Services..................................................................................................97 Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)................................................................81, 82 Audi.........................................................................................................................................61 Avon and Somerset Police.....................................................................................................88 Avon Protection ...................................................................................................................100 BAPCO 2010 ..........................................................................................................................66 Bay Search and Rescue..........................................................................................................28 Bluelite Graphics ...................................................................................................................60 bmi ....................................................................................................................................74, 75 BOC Healthcare.........................................................................................................39, 41, 97 bott Limited ...........................................................................................................................56 British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS)......................................................12, 19 British Cave Rescue Council ................................................................................................85 British Red Cross.........................................................................................................8, 15, 50 British Transport Police ........................................................................................................62 Buying Solutions....................................................................................................................90 Cabinet Office ..................................................................................................................70, 81 Cadcorp .............................................................................................................................62, 66 Cambridgeshire Constabulary ..............................................................................................62 Carnation Designs ...........................................................................................................40, 66 Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service ..........................................................................40 CHC.........................................................................................................................................41 Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service........................................................................................12 Cheshire Local Resilience Forum........................................................................................12 Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA) ............................................................................47 Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser.............................................................................................47 Chloride ..................................................................................................................................41 Civil Contingencies Secretariat................................................................................66, 68, 81 Cleveland Fire Brigade..........................................................................................................41 CNS .........................................................................................................................................62 Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team ................................................................................23 Collins Nets ............................................................................................................................35 Command UK – Technical Rescue ......................................................................................35 Community Resilience ..........................................................................................................80 Coniston Mountain Rescue Team ........................................................................................23 Cosalt...................................................................................................................................7, 39 Cranfield University..............................................................................................................77 Crowcon ................................................................................................................................100 CRYPTOCard.........................................................................................................................62 Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service........................................................................................28 Cumbria Police.................................................................................................................32, 33 Custom Consoles....................................................................................................................39 Defra..........................................................................................................................................6 Department for Business, Innovation and Skills ...............................................................12 Department for International Development.......................................................................47 Department for Transport...............................................................................................41, 56 Department of Health...................................................................................12, 25, 68, 70, 85 Derbyshire Constabulary ..................................................................................................8, 54 Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service................................................................................8, 40 Deutsche Messe......................................................................................................................95 Devon and Cornwall Constabulary......................................................................................82 Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service .............................................................19, 88 Dominican Republic Red Cross ...........................................................................................51 Dorset County Council............................................................................................................7 Dorset Fire and Rescue Service .........................................................................................7, 8 Dorset Police ............................................................................................................................7 DuPont....................................................................................................................................97 East Anglian Air Ambulance............................................................................................7, 39 East Midlands Ambulance Service ......................................................................................10 East of England Ambulance Service....................................................................................39 The Emergency Planning College .......................................................................................68 The Emergency Services Show ......................................................................................82, 93 Environment Agency................................................................................6, 25, 31, 39, 65, 80 Erewash Borough Council ......................................................................................................8 Excelerate Technology...................................................................................................64, 100 Federal Signal Vama ..............................................................................................................58 Fire Department City of New York .....................................................................................39 The Fire Service College.................................................................................................35, 68 Firebuy..............................................................................................................................35, 90 Fisher, Scoggins, Waters........................................................................................................75 Ford Motor Company............................................................................................................60 Foreign and Commonwealth Office...............................................................................50, 82 French Red Cross...................................................................................................................43 FTV Limited..........................................................................................................................87 Future Safety ..........................................................................................................................35
Company Name
Page No
Company Name
Page No
Garndene Communication Systems.....................................................................................39 Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service ............................................................................17 Goliath Footwear ...................................................................................................................35 Goodyear.................................................................................................................................32 Government Office for London ...........................................................................................77 Government Office for the West Midlands.........................................................................77 Great Western Ambulance Service.........................................................................................8 Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service .....................................................................47 Greater Manchester Police....................................................................................................16 Gwent Police...........................................................................................................................65 Hagglund ................................................................................................................................28 Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service................................................................................8, 47 Health & Social Care in Northern Ireland..........................................................................62 Health and Safety Executive.................................................................................................95 Health and Safety Laboratory ..............................................................................................99 Her Majesty’s Court Service .................................................................................................65 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary .......................................................................54 Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service..............................................................16 Hertfordshire Police ................................................................................................................8 Highways Agency ..............................................................................................................7, 41 HM Revenue and Customs ...................................................................................................65 Home Office.........................................................................................................73, 81, 82, 88 HR Wallingford........................................................................................................................6 Hughes Safety Showers ...........................................................................................................8 Human Tissue Agency ....................................................................................................80, 82 Humberside Fire and Rescue Service..................................................................................12 IBM Global Business Services..............................................................................................88 IMServ ....................................................................................................................................62 International Rescue Corps...................................................................................................25 International Rescue Training Centre Wales ........................................................................7 Interpol ...................................................................................................................................82 INTERSCHUTZ 2010 ..........................................................................................................95 Ion Science .............................................................................................................................99 Isle of Wight Ambulance Service.........................................................................................16 John Sisk & Son Ltd .............................................................................................................41 Kent Fire and Rescue Service ..................................................................................19, 40, 47 Kent Police .............................................................................................................................60 Keswick Mountain Rescue Team .........................................................................................23 Killin Mountain Rescue Team .............................................................................................60 Kussmaul Electronics Co Inc .............................................................................................100 Kuwaiti Red Crescent............................................................................................................51 Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service ....................................................................................47 Land Rover.......................................................................................................................28, 41 Leeds NHS Trust ...................................................................................................................39 Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service...............................................................................40 Lincolnshire County Council...............................................................................................21 Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service.................................................................................47 Lion Apparel ..................................................................................................................39, 102 Lloydspharmacy.....................................................................................................................12 Lomo Industries ....................................................................................................................35 London Ambulance Service .............................................................................................6, 10 London Fire Brigade.............................................................................................................17 London Resilience...........................................................................................................75, 77 Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service ...................................................................56 Maritime and Coastguard Agency .................................................................................35, 62 Maryport Inshore Lifeboat ...................................................................................................23 Meprolight..............................................................................................................................97 Metropolitan Police.......................................................................................39, 41, 75, 77, 90 Microbus.....................................................................................................................40, 60, 66 Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service....................................................................47 Ministry of Defence.........................................................................................................35, 41 Ministry of Justice .................................................................................................................12 Mitsubishi...............................................................................................................................41 Motorola..................................................................................................................................68 Mouchel ..................................................................................................................................62 Mountain Rescue Council of Scotland ................................................................................66 Mountain Rescue England and Wales .................................................................................85 MW Power..............................................................................................................................99 National Association of Police Fleet Managers (NAPFM) ...............................................90 National Audit Office..............................................................................................................6 National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA)...................................................68, 82, 90 NBC Group.............................................................................................................................40 NHS Dorset..............................................................................................................................7 NHS Scotland.........................................................................................................................40 NHS Scotland National Procurement .................................................................................39 North East Ambulance Service ......................................................................................10, 39 North West Ambulance Service ...............................................................................10, 12, 25 North West Collaborative Commercial Agency..................................................................41 North Yorkshire Police..........................................................................................................40 Northamptonshire Police......................................................................................................54 Northern Diver ......................................................................................................................35 Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service .........................................................................66 Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service..........................................................................10 Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service ...................................................................17, 40 Nottinghamshire Police ..................................................................................................10, 54 Office of Government Commerce (OGC)............................................................................90 OpenView Group ...................................................................................................................39 Outreach Rescue ....................................................................................................................34 PageOne ..................................................................................................................................70 PBI Performance Products ...................................................................................................40 Peli Products ........................................................................................................................102 Penrith Mountain Rescue Team...........................................................................................23 Plinth 2000 .............................................................................................................................99 Polar Bears..............................................................................................................................35 Premier Hazard......................................................................................................................60 Premier Hose Technologies ..................................................................................................35
Professional Protection Systems (PPS) ...............................................................................84 Promove UK Ltd...................................................................................................................40 Radio Telecom Services Ltd .................................................................................................66 RAF Leeming.........................................................................................................................33 RAF Mountain Rescue Team................................................................................................33 RAF Search and Rescue Force .......................................................................................25, 33 RAF Valley..............................................................................................................................33 RAYNET ................................................................................................................................68 RBS..........................................................................................................................................41 Remploy................................................................................................................................104 Renault....................................................................................................................................60 Rescue 3 ..................................................................................................................................35 Response-SV...........................................................................................................................78 RISCAuthority .....................................................................................................................102 Road Angel Fleet .................................................................................................................100 Romad .....................................................................................................................................99 Rosenbauer .............................................................................................................................99 Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service ...........................................................................21 Royal Canadian Mounted Police..........................................................................................73 Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)................................................7, 25, 32, 35, 85 Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)..............................................................................68 RSG .......................................................................................................................................100 RSPCA ..............................................................................................................................20, 34 Safety Media ...........................................................................................................................12 Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust......................................................................40 SAR 2010 ................................................................................................................................95 Scottish Ambulance Service .................................................................................................39 SealSkinz.................................................................................................................................99 Search and Rescue Assistance in Disasters (SARAID)......................................................44 ShelterBox ..............................................................................................................................43 Shephard.................................................................................................................................95 SIESO......................................................................................................................................95 Sikorsky ..................................................................................................................................41 Somerset County Council .....................................................................................................88 Soteria .....................................................................................................................................41 South Central Ambulance Service .......................................................................................21 South East Coast Ambulance Service..............................................................................6, 20 South Wales Fire and Rescue Service..................................................................................47 South West Water.....................................................................................................................6 South Western Ambulance Service..................................................................................6, 41 Southwest One .......................................................................................................................88 SP Services ...............................................................................................................12, 84, 102 Speech Bubble........................................................................................................................12 The Stationery Office ............................................................................................................97 St James’s University Hospital Leeds..................................................................................39 St John Ambulance............................................................................................................7, 70 Surrey County Council..........................................................................................................44 Surrey Fire and Rescue Service............................................................................................20 Surrey Police...........................................................................................................................17 Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team.......................................................................................23 Swiss Red Cross......................................................................................................................51 Taunton Deane Borough Council ........................................................................................88 Teesdale & Weardale Mountain Rescue Team ....................................................................23 Thales UK ..............................................................................................................................41 Total Worx ..............................................................................................................................35 Toyota......................................................................................................................................41 Trelleborg................................................................................................................................35 Triscan Systems......................................................................................................................40 UK Disaster Victim Identification ......................................................................................82 UK SAR Medical Group.......................................................................................................85 UK Skills ................................................................................................................................12 United Kingdom Aviation Emergency Planners Group ...................................................74 United Kingdom International Search and Rescue (UK ISAR)......................................47 University of East London ...................................................................................................75 Ventnor Coastguard ...............................................................................................................16 Veolia Transport .....................................................................................................................40 Verint Systems........................................................................................................................66 Vimpex Ltd...........................................................................................................................102 Volvo........................................................................................................................................64 VOSA ......................................................................................................................................65 VT Group .........................................................................................................................28, 41 Warwickshire Police ..............................................................................................................41 Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team..........................................................................................23 Webasto .................................................................................................................................100 West Midlands Ambulance Service .........................................................................12, 68, 70 West Midlands Fire Service..................................................................................................47 West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service ..................................................................................47 West Wight Coastguard.........................................................................................................16 West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.................................................................10, 15, 64 West Yorkshire Police......................................................................................................16, 54 Workwear and Corporate Clothing 2010 .............................................................................93 Yorkshire Ambulance Service...............................................................................................15
Company Name
Company Name
Advertisers Company Name
Page No
Aireshelta Plc .........................................................................................................................83 Amputees in Action Ltd .......................................................................................................86 Anderco Safety .................................................................................................................58, 59 APB mobile installations ltd ................................................................................................22 Arqiva......................................................................................................................................69 Avon Inflatables Ltd..............................................................................................................29 BAPCO 2010 ..........................................................................................................................98 Blücher....................................................................................................................................72 BMW Authorities ....................................................................................................................5 British Red Cross...........................................................................................................18, 103 Canland UK Ltd..................................................................................................................103 Certificate in Terrorism Studies ...........................................................................................76 Chemsol Limited ...................................................................................................................83 Community Resilience .......................................................................................................IFC Counter Terror Expo 2010 ....................................................................................................94 Cranfield University..............................................................................................................71 Disasters Emergency Committee .........................................................................................42 The Emergency Planning College .......................................................................................72 ESKA ......................................................................................................................................49 Excelerate Technology Ltd .............................................................................................64, 65 FAME Commercials Ltd ......................................................................................................57 Federal Signal Vama ........................................................................................................58, 59 Fenland Laundries Ltd.........................................................................................................37 FTV Ltd ...................................................................................................................................2
Page No
GenQuip..................................................................................................................................30 Gotec Trading Limited........................................................................................................103 HAIX.......................................................................................................................................84 Hants Medical ........................................................................................................................55 Inner Cordon 2010.................................................................................................................46 INTERSCHUTZ ...................................................................................................................96 Intramark Ltd .....................................................................................................................IBC Kussmaul Electronics Co Inc ...............................................................................................18 Laerdal ......................................................................................................................................9 Land Rover.............................................................................................................................13 Life Connections 2010...........................................................................................................92 Lion Apparel ..........................................................................................................................89 Lyon Equipment Limited...............................................................................................11, 45 Marco Trailers ........................................................................................................................22 NAPFM 2010 .......................................................................................................................103 NBC Group.............................................................................................................................38 NightSearcher Limited .........................................................................................................71 Outreach Rescue ....................................................................................................................30 PageOne ..................................................................................................................................63 Peli Products (UK) Ltd.........................................................................................................14 Professional Protection Systems ..........................................................................................83 Radio Telecom Services Ltd .................................................................................................67 Red Box Recorders Limited .................................................................................................67 Remploy..................................................................................................................................55
Page No
Response-SV ................................................................................................................OFC, 91 Rigiflex Ltd ............................................................................................................................33 RSG Engineering Limited....................................................................................................18 Rud Chains Ltd ...............................................................................................................14, 18 Ruth Lee Ltd..........................................................................................................................26 SAR 2010 ................................................................................................................................76 Sea & Sea Ltd.........................................................................................................................30 Slik-Pak Ltd ...........................................................................................................................82 SP Services .................................................................................................................OBC, 101 Terrafix Limited.....................................................................................................................57 The Emergency Services Show 2010 .................................................................................101 Thomas Jacks .........................................................................................................................29 Torque Fast Calibration Ltd...............................................................................................101 Volkswagen Group...........................................................................................................52, 53 VT Group................................................................................................................................89 W L Gore & Associates.........................................................................................................87 Whispaire Ltd ......................................................................................................................103 Will-Burt.................................................................................................................................49 Woodway.................................................................................................................................57 Workwear and Corporate Clothing Show............................................................................96 Yaktrax ....................................................................................................................................14 Yamaha....................................................................................................................................26
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6 | NEWS
In brief . . . South Western Ambulance Service’s Community Engagement Team has been working in partnership with South West Water to ensure that each one of its sites across Devon and Cornwall has a defibrillator available in the event of an emergency. A total of 40 South West Water personnel attended a day long training session, delivered by ambulance trust staff, in the use of a defibrillator. Additionally, all those that attended the course were given training in basic life support skills, which means that they can now save a life in the event that someone suffers a heart attack. www.swast.nhs.uk
The London Ambulance Service receives around 100,000 calls each year to people complaining of chest pain, one of the main signs of a heart attack. These calls are often to public places: train stations, airports, tourist venues and workplaces. London Ambulance Service’s Community Defibrillation Office Martin Bullock is working to place defibrillators in a variety of these venues across the capital and SEALIFE London Aquarium is the latest lucky recipient. Visitors to SEALIFE London Aquarium can now be assured of receiving the very best in service from the first aid team, following the installation of a life saving defibrillator.
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NAO calls variations in major trauma care in England unacceptable There is ‘unacceptable’ variation in major trauma care in England depending upon where and when people are treated, according to a National Audit Office report published on 5 February. Care for patients who have suffered major trauma, for example following a road accident or a fall, has not significantly improved in the last 20 years despite numerous reports identifying poor practice, and services are not being delivered efficiently or effectively. Survival rates vary significantly from hospital to hospital, with a range from five unexpected survivors to eight unexpected deaths per 100 trauma patients, reflecting the variable quality of care. The NAO estimates that 450 to 600 lives could be saved each year in England if major trauma care was managed more effectively. Mr Amyas Morse, Head of the National Audit Office, said, “Current services for people who suffer major trauma are not good enough. There is unacceptable variation, which means that if you are unlucky enough to have an accident at night or at the weekend, in many areas you are likely to receive worse quality of care and are more likely to die. The Department of Health and the NHS must get a grip on coordinating services through trauma networks, on costs and on
information on major trauma care, if they are to prevent unnecessary deaths.” South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust (SECAmb) welcomed the National Audit Office’s report on major trauma care and its recognition of the trust’s introduction of Critical Care Paramedics (CCPs). SECAmb was one of the first ambulance trusts in the country to introduce these experienced paramedics who have undergone further university training allowing them to provide a much wider range of care and treatment at the scene to critically ill and injured patients. Developments in its service such as the introduction of CCPs have con-
siderably improved SECAmb’s ability to care for major trauma patients in the prehospital environment. SECAmb has also led with innovations including the introduction of the EZIO drill, a means by which paramedics can replace fluid and administer pain relief by placing an intravenous line into the bone of a patient. SECAmb recognises the need for further improvements, however, and will continue to work with its partners across the region to improve coordination between the ambulance service and hospitals and to explore ways in which stronger networks of care can be can be established. SECAmb Director of Clinical Innovations and Consultant Paramedic Andy Newton said, “We are committed to improving outcomes for all of the patients we treat and there have been considerable improvements in SECAmb’s ability to care for major trauma patients. All our clinicians are skilled at providing a high level of clinical care and saving lives but care for patients suffering serious trauma has been enhanced through innovation and through the introduction of specialist roles including CCPs.” www.nao.org.uk/publications www.secamb.nhs.uk
www.londonambulance.nhs.uk
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) opened a new £2m ambulance station at Yearsley Bridge in York on 16 February 2010. The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, conducted the opening ceremony and was joined by staff and patients from the area to celebrate the occasion. The station is strategically located to enable ambulance crews to respond to 999 calls in and around York more swiftly. As well as housing four emergency ambulances, six rapid response vehicles, 11 patient transport vehicles and over 80 staff, the station boasts modern equipment and training facilities. www.yas.nhs.uk
UK Police Map – this issue includes a free wall map showing the headquarters of all UK police forces. If you didn’t receive your copy please call David Brown on Tel: 01273 453033 or e-mail: davidbrown@mmcpublications.co.uk – hurry, while stocks last!
UK’s largest flood product test centre opens A cutting edge simulator that recreates the devastating effects of a flood has been created to test products designed to defend homes, businesses and people from flooding. The new test facility in Oxfordshire has been developed by the Environment Agency and HR Wallingford to test flood defence products against a new industry standard. It features a replica living room inside a massive tank, about half the size of a football pitch. During the simulation, the replica building is fitted with the flood products and the tank is then flooded with thousands of gallons of water to simulate a severe flood. If successful, the products will be awarded the BSI Kitemark, giving householders, organisations and businesses greater confidence in the flood products they use to protect their property. Robert Runcie, the Environment Agency’s Director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management, said, “The new testing facility and industry stan-
dard will help those at risk make informed choices and have confidence in the flood products they buy, as well as encouraging new product development. “The Environment Agency is working hard across the country to reduce the risk of flooding and has already completed 106 new defences since summer 2007, however one in six homes in England and Wales are already at risk of flooding – and this number is likely to increase due to the effects of climate change. We want to encourage individuals and businesses to help themselves by making their property more resistant to flooding.”
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Defra’s £5m property level flood protection grant scheme helps those in high flood risk areas that do not benefit from community level defences, enabling them to purchase flood protection products for individual houses, such as those being tested in the new centre. The Environment Agency is urging the local authorities receiving this grant money to ensure that the products they purchase to protect people and property are tested and bear the BSI Kitemark. The opening of this new facility supports the introduction of a new industry standard (PAS 1188) and will help ensure that new products entering the market are robust and reliable. This will result in a wider range of options for consumers in the future. www.environment-agency.gov.uk/ homeandleisure/floods/31624.aspx www.bluepages.org.uk www.bsigroup.com
NEWS | 7
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2009 busiest year on record for RNLI The number of annual lifeboat launches exceeded 9000 for the first time in the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI’s) 186 year history in 2009, the charity has announced. Volunteer lifeboat crews across the UK and Ireland launched a total of 9154 times in 2009, rescuing 8186 people. The charity’s lifeguards also had their busiest year, responding to 13,588 incidents and assisting 15,954 people – the highest number since the service began in 2001. The busiest RNLI lifeboat station overall in 2009 was Tower, on the River Thames, launching 380 times and rescuing 148 people in the capital. The busiest coastal lifeboat station in 2009 was Poole in Dorset, where the volunteer crews launched 200 times, rescuing 242 people. Cross head? RNLI Operations Director, Michael Vlasto, said, “The record breaking figures in 2009 may be, in part, due to people holidaying at home in the UK and Ireland instead of planning holidays abroad during last year’s financial uncertainty. However, we look at long term trends and, as we start a new decade, the figures for the last 10 years show our lifeboats have launched close to 80,000 times rescuing 76,489 people. These 10 year statistics show that coastal recreation is the increasing reason for RNLI lifeboat launches.” Lifeboat launches to people in trouble in the sea last year increased by 61% to 1517 when compared to the 2000 figure of 942. Lifeboats launched 1172 times in 2009 to people in difficulties on the shore – a 135% increase on the 2000 figure of 498 launches. www.rnli.org.uk
Dorset partnership says there's 'no excuse' for dangerous driving
Councils and emergency services in Dorset are working together in a major drive to cut the number of people killed and seriously injured on the county’s roads. Throughout 2010, the ‘no excuse’ campaign will combine additional police and safety camera enforcement on roads across Dorset with high impact publicity and driver education. The target is to reduce the number of fatal and serious casualties on Dorset’s roads by 30 percent in 2010, based on the 294 recorded in 2008.
The initiative is being led by the Dorset Road Safe partnership, which includes Dorset County Council, Dorset Police, Dorset Fire and Rescue Service, Dorset Safety Camera Partnership (DSCP), the Dorset Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, NHS Dorset, the Highways Agency and Bournemouth and Poole borough councils. The contributions of a range of partners to the project in funding and resources are worth around £800,000. The county council alone has dedicated £200,000 towards carefully targeted publicity and advertising campaigns running on local radio, billboards and bus backs throughout the year.
Dedicated teams of traffic police and a mobile Dorset Safety Camera Partnership, in addition to the existing enforcement, are targeting routes with the highest casualty rates on a daily basis in a combination of overt and covert operations. Drivers caught for certain offences are being offered a referral to an education scheme, with fees ploughed straight into the additional enforcement.
course is available across the country and covers: heath and safety legislation; an overview of what a company needs to do to remain compliant; an overview of risk assessments and basic procedures; an introduction to the language of health and safety; and how to stay informed of latest changes. Richard Evens, Training and Marketing Director at St John Ambulance, says, “Health and safety is certainly not something that should be skimped on but we realise that smaller businesses can find it daunting when faced with the prospect of dealing with risk
The annual ACPO-APA Summer Conference and International Policing Exhibition will run on a later date line than previously published. Running the conference and exhibition at the end of June 2010 will enable the event to deliver a key focus for the policy and direction of policing following the General Election. The International Policing Exhibition will run from 30 June to 1 July and is free to attend for all police, staff, associates and colleagues. The ACPO-APA Summer Conference will run from 29 June to 1 July and is a closed session for members of the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities. Both events will take place at Manchester Central. www.acpo-apa.co.uk
Cosalt’s Workwear business, which is one of the UK’s leading providers of protective clothing and equipment to the emergency services, police, military, transport and construction industries, has been awarded the environmental management standard ISO 14001 in recognition of its commitment to running an environmentally friendly operation. The award, which comes only months after achieving certification to ISO 9001:2008, further exemplifies Cosalt’s commitment to investing in its quality management systems. ISO 14001 enables organisations to measure the impact on the environment from its activities, services, products and people. In the first 11 days of the ‘no excuse’ project, a total of 611 motorists were detected committing offences – that's one every seven minutes. The project, inspired by a similar successful partnership effort in Essex, has been backed by the local and national media and even picked up the attention of the New York Times. www.dorsetforyou.com
St John Ambulance launches H&S basics course for SMEs According to St John Ambulance, worryingly over 15% of businesses have never carried out an assessment to determine risks within the workplace and therefore how to protect staff. The organisation has launched a new course aimed at helping small to medium sized businesses understand the basic processes involved in making their workplace legally compliant. The new St John Ambulance Health and Safety (H&S) basics course is accredited by the British Safety Council and successful completion of the course results in a BSc certificate. The
In brief . . .
assessments, protocols and legal obligations without having the same resources as large companies. Our Health and safety basics course will help clear up any confusion and ensure employers become proficient in this area and understand how their business can comply.” St John Ambulance trains nearly 600,000 people in first aid and health and safety each year. Prices for the Health and Safety basics course start from £270. www.sja.org.uk
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www.cosalt.com/workwear
The East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2010 and has announced a series of special events to help mark the milestone while raising funds to help sustain and enhance the service as it enters its second decade. Special activities already in the pipeline include a grand 10th anniversary ball on 9 October 2010 and a competition for photographers to help design a special range of fundraising Christmas cards for 2010 and a calendar for 2011. The EAAA operates a 365 day life saving air ambulance service across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. www.eaaa.org.uk
The International Rescue Training Centre Wales (IRTCW) has a new website – www.irtcw.co.uk. IRTCW was officially opened on 30 October 2009 and offers a range of training courses, details of which are available to download as a PDF from the website. www.irtcw.co.uk
8 | NEWS
In brief . . .
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Partnership scheme tackles alcohol related crime
As part of Dorset Fire and Rescue Service’s fire cadets programme, cadets recently visited the region’s police service, so the cadets could gain an understanding of how emergency services work together. The fire cadets were given an opportunity to discuss the role of the police service, the different responsibilities they have, how this fits in with the fire and rescue service and how they work together to keep Dorset’s communities safe. www.dorsetfire.co.uk
Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) has launched Q&I (Quality & Innovation), a new journal to help ambulance crews keep up to date with latest clinical developments. Subjects covered in the first edition include the results of an audit of STEMI (heart attack) patients attended by GWAS crews, a hypothermia case study, advice for assessing stroke and when to administer hydrocortisone to pituitary patients. Q&I was officially launched at a drop in style open day in Chippenham at the end of January. www.gwas.nhs.uk
Hertfordshire Police has received a prestigious award for its commitment to bridging the communications gap between deaf and hearing people on its beat. Top brass were on hand to collect the Signature Annual Award for Organisational Achievement in recognition of the force’s initiatives including deaf awareness training, the introduction of Link Officers who aid communication between deaf and hearing people and the launch of the SMS 999 system providing equal access to emergency services for all.
(From L to R): Kelly Gillott (Erewash Borough Council); PC Mark Dunn; Enforcement officer David Bowen (Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service); Group Manager Sean Wells; Sergeant Mark Lomas; and Carolyn Singleton from Erewash Borough Council.
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, Derbyshire Constabulary, Erewash Borough Council and Amber Valley Borough Council have proved to be perfect partners when it comes to tackling alcohol related problems in the area. Known as the VAL (Violence, Alcohol Harm and Licensing) team, the
partners work together in a high visibility partnership vehicle which, as well as taking police, fire officers and other various agency officers to the heart of any problem, also acts as a mobile office which enables them to deal with paperwork while still at a scene. The van is jointly financed by the partners and has proved itself hun-
FESS responds to 1000th call out
www.hughes-safety-showers.co.uk
Volunteers on call with the British Red Cross in Hampshire leapt into action on 11 January, to reports of a house fire in Portchester – their 1000th call out. Mobilised by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, the Fire and Emergency Support Service (FESS) team made their way to Exton Gardens to provide emotional and practical support to the Walker family, whose home had been affected by a fire that broke out in the kitchen and caused extensive smoke logging to the property. When they arrived the FESS team invited the householders out of the snow and into the warmth of the specially adapted Red Cross vehicle while firefighters tackled the flames. The FESS vehicle is kitted out with
www.derbyshire-fire-service.co.uk
111 just ‘icing on the cake’ says Ambulance Service Network
necessities such as a clothing bank, toiletries, a phone, documents and space for a team of fully trained Red Cross volunteers to offer practical help and emotional support. As well as immediate assistance at the scene of the fire, Red Cross volunteers can also contact a victim’s insurance company, arrange alternative accommodation, help to secure a property and sort out utilities. Householder Sharon Walker said, “The Red Cross volunteers ran through what needed to be done and jollied me along. I’m normally one of these people who will cry every five minutes, but they kept me going and focused on how to move on from this.”
Commenting on the launch of three new pilots for a new non-emergency healthcare number, Ambulance Service Network Chair Heather Strawbridge said, “A new phone number for people with urgent but not life threatening health problems could help transform patient care and is something the Ambulance Service Network had been proposing for some time. 111 would be easy to remember, simple to use, and help stop people feeling confused about who they should ring when they need help. “As we made clear in our consultation response to Ofcom, 111 must be just the front end of a much better system of healthcare which ensures patients get the right services, in the right place, at the right time. We need services to work together more effectively and treat more patients in the community or at home when it is safe to do so. “111 should therefore be the ‘icing on the cake’ of much wider changes to the emergency and urgent healthcare system so we can provide a range of urgent services 24/7, including GPs in and out of hours, walk in and urgent care centres, minor injuries units, social care and mental health services and community nursing teams.”
www.hantsfire.gov.uk
www.nhsconfed.org
www.signature.org.uk/awards
Hughes Safety Showers is the first manufacturer in the North West of England to achieve the Investors in People Gold Award. The company has held Investors in People accreditation since 2002 and this latest extension to the award is designed to stretch organisations even further. The Investors in People Gold award, together with the recently acquired Environmental Management Standard ISO14001, tops off a successful year for Hughes Safety Showers. The company, Europe’s leading manufacturer of emergency safety showers and decontamination equipment, recorded strong growth during 2009 with a 10 percent increase in sales and a 35 percent increase in overseas business.
dreds of times since it took to the streets, with more than 240 visits in 2009 for the police officers and with 120 of those involving a member of the fire and rescue service. This teamwork has also brought down arson attacks from 40 a year when the team began to only five to date. Group Manager Sean Wells, who is based at Ilkeston Community Fire Station, said, “VAL grew out of the work we were already doing across the boroughs. We have been working together now for more than three years, as part of a joint working protocol, but only took delivery of the special van in 2009.” The police and fire authorities overlap when it comes to alcohol and licensing legislation. So far the team have checked more than 1500 licensed premises. Because they work outside their standard offices and office times, there has been a massive amount of time and legal costs saved by the scheme.
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10 | NEWS
In brief . . . Firefighters in Carlton have temporarily moved in with colleagues from East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) while their 50 year old fire station is demolished and rebuilt. They will be based there for the next 10 months until the brand new £3.5m replacement fire station is complete. The move has been carefully planned for months, and a programme of refurbishment work has been completed at the ambulance station to accommodate the fire crews and their equipment. This includes internal refurbishment and the delivery of portable buildings which will be used for storage and office space. It is anticipated crews will be able to move back to their rebuilt station by November 2010. www.notts-fire.gov.uk
North West Ambulance Service has welcomed a six month prison sentence given to a 34 year old man after he attacked an ambulance crew. Michael John Williams of no fixed abode was sentenced in Barrow Magistrates Court on 11 January 2010 after indecently touching two female paramedics who were called to help him at the weekend. He was also forced to sign the sex offenders register for seven years. Director of Emergency Services for North West Ambulance Service, Derek Cartwright, said, “The behaviour of this individual is sickening and totally unacceptable. We fully welcome this sentence and hope it sends out a very clear message to anyone who assaults our crews, either verbally or physically, that they face the possibility of prosecution.”
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Working together creates winning extrication team Collaboration between Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) and North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) has led to the development of a successful training programme and a world class competition team. An arrangement to provide extrication training for all new recruits to NEAS was first set up by Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service 10 years ago and this was formalised in 2004. This training, which takes place at least five times a year, has been invaluable to officers from both organisations and ensures that people involved in a road traffic accident receive the best care and attention. As part of their work together NFRS and NEAS have developed a competition team, which was crowned UK Rescue Extrication Champions in September 2009. This was the team’s second national win in the competition and they are now preparing for the world championships in September 2010 when they will represent the UK in Gran Canaria. In 2009’s world championship event in Frankfurt, Germany, the team, of five firefighters and two paramedics, placed
Pictured: (Back from left) Richard Fairbairn, Gary Hall, Andy Pogson (capt), Steve Wickham and Steve Wight, (Front) Paramedics Donna Hay, James Kidman.
12th overall and the medics were voted best in the world. These world class paramedics, James Kidman and Donna Hay, join team members, firefighters Gary Hall, Andy Pogson, Steve Wickham, Richard Fairbairn and Steve Wight for training sessions throughout the year to perfect their extrication speed and technical expertise. Brian Hesler, Chief Fire Officer for
London named ambulance trust of the year at health awards
www.nwas.nhs.uk
Three of West Yorkshire’s arson task forces have smashed through targets for reducing fires involving property and cars pulling in more than £5m in reward grants for their local communities. Assistant Chief Fire Officer Craig McIntosh said, “The aim of creating multi agency arson task forces was to bring together agencies such as fire, police and district councils to tackle firesetting at its roots by better prevention, education, detection and prosecution. Statistics show that a reduction in arson across the Bradford and Wakefield districts has also been accompanied by a welcome drop in accidental fires as well. That’s a fantastic achievement which improves the quality of life for many communities traditionally plagued by crime and antisocial behaviour.” www.westyorksfire.gov.uk
Communications Officer Alistair Drummond and Performance Improvement Manager Paul Webster collect the award on behalf of London Ambulance Service.
London Ambulance Service has won the ‘Ambulance trust of the year’ prize at the Health Business Awards 2009. The service beat four other finalists to scoop the accolade at the event held at the Emirates Stadium in north London in December 2009, presented by BBC journalist Nicholas Owen. The ability to respond to almost 974,000 incidents in the last year, despite high congestion levels in the capital, was among the reasons cited for recognising the service. Initiatives introduced by LAS to ensure that
patients dialling 999 and categorised as being in a non life threatening condition receive the best possible level of care were also mentioned. Performance Improvement Manager Paul Webster, who accepted the award on behalf of the service, said, “It’s an honour to be here representing the service and receiving this award. It’s great that the hard work of all staff in the service has been recognised in this way.” www.londonambulance.nhs.uk
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Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service, said, “This is an example of partnership work at its most effective. By providing training programmes for all Northumberland based NEAS recruits we can ensure that we have some of the best technical rescue teams in the country. This excellence and expertise is evident in the success of our competition teams.” www.northumberland.gov.uk
Police join forces with The Prince's Trust A Nottinghamshire Police Community Support Officer has been getting to grips with a group of young people after the police joined forces with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) and The Prince’s Trust. PCSO Christina Cole was the first of a new batch of officers to be seconded to The Prince’s Trust to help run the organisation'’s Team Programme, a 12 week personal development course. The course gives young people the opportunity to earn qualifications and improve their chances of finding work and includes community projects, work placements, career planning, outdoor challenges and team working. The team will be based at Clifton Community Safety Centre and Christina will be supported in her new role by an experienced team leader. Once she has completed the programme, her place will be taken by another PCSO and she will return to the police to use the knowledge she has gained to promote the work of NFRS and The Prince’s Trust in supporting youth and community projects. www.notts-fire.gov.uk
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12 | NEWS
In brief . . . North West Ambulance Service’s regionwide Choose Well campaign aims to encourage the public to consider alternatives to the 999 number and A&E such as phoning NHS Direct, or going to minor injury units, walk in centres or their own GP’s surgery. To help promote the message, all of the trust’s ambulances, emergency and non-emergency vehicles, will be branded with the Choose Well logo’. www.nwas.nhs.uk
Safety Media, working with Speech Bubble, has announced the launch of its free Fire Safety iPhone App. This development is a huge leap forward for health and safety training, using modern technology to bring health and safety guidance to a new platform – a first for the health and safety industry. www.safetylearning.co.uk
Lloydspharmacy is partnering the charity BASICS (British Association for Immediate Care) to supply drugs for emergency response incidents across the UK. Historically, as volunteers, BASICS doctors source the drugs they need through individual arrangements with hospitals but this partnership now means they have a consistent supply and single point of access to purchase drugs via a dedicated Lloydspharmacy website. The website allows accredited BASICS members to register, purchase drugs and choose where they would like them delivered. In the case of controlled drugs, members can nominate any Lloydspharmacy in the UK where they can be collected. www.lloydspharmacy.co.uk www.basics.org.uk
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service’s new Road Traffic Collision (RTC) Extrication Centre was officially opened on 3 February 2010. This new centre, at BDV Vehicle Recovery near Scunthorpe, will provide Humberside FRS with the facility to train staff in the safe removal of casualties from vehicles involved in a road traffic collision and try out new techniques in a dedicated and controlled environment. The facility will also aid partner organisations such as the police (training of new officers and collision investigators in our techniques), the ambulance service (to facilitate greater partnership working between our casualty carers and their trainees and paramedics) and the Highways Agency (training its officers in line with FRS requirements prior to our arrival on scene – particularly on motorways). www.humbersidefire.gov.uk
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Major exercise allows text alert test
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service held a major exercise in October last year in a bid to raise people’s awareness of what to do in the event of a major emergency. The service organised a ‘Shelter Day’ at Hapsford Services, just off the M56, which involved crews responding to a simulated incident as if it were happening for real. Firefighters acted out the scenario, which involved an imaginary ‘toxic cloud’ leaking from a road tanker affecting a nearby village. The crews used special protective clothing, equipment and a decontamination kit to rescue the driver and deal with the leak of phosphoric acid. Other service staff were also on hand in the nearby village, explaining to residents what was happening and also highlighting what they should do if this incident, or something like it was to actually take place. There was support on the day from other members of the Cheshire Local Resilience Forum, the body responsible for ensuring there are plans and resources in place to respond to major emergencies. The service also used additional technology during the exercise in a bid to help keep residents and businesses
informed. This included a new pilot system using Bluetooth technology available on most mobile phones – a mobile transmitter with a range of up to 250m sent out a brief message which could be accepted by anyone in the area with Bluetooth enabled on their phone. www.cheshirefire.gov.uk
The Government has set out the next steps to reforming the coroners’ system, including plans to appoint the first ever Chief Coroner. As well as this new appointment the Ministry of Justice will release a consultation in March, asking for views on the policy details of the new system. This will be followed in the autumn by the appointments of a National Medical Adviser to the Chief Coroner and a National Medical Examiner. The new system is expected to go live in April 2012. Working with the Ministry of Justice and those who work within the current coroners’ system, the Chief Coroner will help develop better coroner investigations and inquests, with higher and more consistent standards of service and fewer unnecessary delays. Alongside this, the Department of Health will be developing measures to simplify and strengthen the process of death certification in England and Wales. Introduced in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, these are most fundamental changes to the coroners’ system in more than 100 years. www.justice.gov.uk
SP signs up for defib scheme
will have the opportunity to showcase their work in the ‘Now is the Time’ Award. This will form the seventh category for this year’s awards. Simon Bartley, CEO, UK Skills said, “From speaking with past winners of the National Training Awards we have established that more than half have enjoyed increased awareness amongst their customer base, with a further third stating they have gained additional business following winning an award. Entering the awards provides a real opportunity to benchmark your training against the rest of the UK, so step up now and be recognised for your hard work.” The closing date for this year’s awards is Friday 23 April 2010.
Telford based medical equipment supplier SP Services has joined the West Midlands Ambulance Service’s Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) Scheme. The PAD Scheme was set up so that in a potential cardiac emergency, a trained member of the public who is closer to the scene than the emergency services can be called on by ambulance control to respond to the scene. In the event of a life threatening cardiac emergency where help is delayed, SP Services will appear on the dispatch operator’s screen as a possible source of early medical assistance. SP Services, a supplier of medical, first aid, ambulance, paramedic and emergency rescue equipment, has three members of staff who are trained in the use of defibrillators and oxygen administration and these names have now been logged as emergency contacts with the ambulance service. SP Services’ resident paramedic, Paul Fryer, is also listed as a medical first responder and may be asked to attend other medical emergencies.
www.nationaltrainingawards.com
www.spservices.co.uk
Success stories sought for National Training Awards 2010 The 2010 National Training Awards is seeking stories of how training has transformed businesses, organisations and communities in the emergency services sector. Run on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) by UK Skills, the National Training Awards celebrate organisations and individuals that can demonstrate outstanding business and personal success through an investment in training. The National Training Awards’ six categories are open to individuals and businesses of all sizes across all industries throughout the UK. The National Training Awards has also announced that for the second consecutive year businesses that have invested in training as a direct result of the recession
Government announces changes to the coroners’ system
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United response to snow and ice from the UK’s emergency reponders Heavy snows caused major disruptions across the UK in the first few weeks of January leading to emergency response teams working around the clock to help snowbound communities. Here are just a few examples of the extraordinary efforts of multi agency teams across the country.
British Red Cross
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service joined forces with other emergency services and local authorities during the big freeze to ensure a coordinated response across the county. During the first week of January firefighters attended a number of animal rescues involving dogs and horses which had become trapped on ice. Staff were also busy assisting other organisations struggling with the adverse weather conditions. For example, in Bradford crews assisted non emergency ambulance drivers in carrying patients from ambulances to their homes to create bed space at hospitals and reduce the bed shortage. www.westyorksfire.gov.uk
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS)
British Red Cross emergency teams mounted a huge nationwide response. In Bristol, reaching scores of injured people nursing fractures and broken bones proved quite a challenge. Fortunately, the British Red Cross was able to call on its Unimog vehicle – a 7.5t Mercedes 4x4 truck – which is usually used overseas to deliver international aid in mountainous or flooded terrain. John Cunningham, Warehouse Manager for the British Red Cross in Bristol, said, “This vehicle is often associated with international emergencies such as flooding or natural disasters. With the current severe weather crisis here in the UK it has been invaluable as it’s able to work in incredibly inaccessible conditions. As well as being a versatile 4x4 and getting to places others can’t, it can also carry about two and a half tonnes of cargo which in this case was much needed wheelchairs to people who couldn’t leave their homes.” In Northern Scotland, a team of 30 British Red Cross staff and volunteers made use of specially equipped 4x4 vehicles to reach patients in rural areas where conditions were particularly difficult. Ian Rideout, Red Cross Operations Director for the North of Scotland, said, “The conditions were unprecedented and some back roads are all but impassable. On one occasion we had to drive across a field to reach a patient whose home was so cut off, we considered sledging him out. We also had to
Extra capacity The Red Cross also supported the South Western Ambulance Service Trust by providing extra capacity to allow them to respond even more quickly to blue light emergencies. In Wales, the Red Cross lent four wheel drive ambulance vehicles to the ambulance service trust as the treacherous road conditions in Llanelli and Cardiff worsened. Volunteers and staff also took urgent outpatients to hospitals in Carmarthenshire. Elsewhere in the UK, volunteers and staff employed specially equipped Land Rover vehicles to battle through snow to reach people in need of help. In Hampshire, volunteers provided help after 1000 drivers were stranded overnight on the A3. British Red Cross Chief Executive Sir Nick Young saluted emergency services agencies for their sterling efforts. He said, “With emergency services stretched right across Britain, our volunteers and the four wheel drive Land Rovers, have come into their own. Once again they have shown – as they have time and again – that dedicated, trained volunteers can play a vital role in responding to emergencies.”
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) has praised Ripon Land Rover for providing additional off road vehicles at short notice to help them reach patients during in the recent cold snap. When the adverse weather hit, the ambulance service had access to 20 4x4 Land Rovers which were used in areas badly affected by the heavy snow and ice – mainly in North Yorkshire, the Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees areas and on the east coast. The extra off road vehicles were utilised by clinical staff to respond to medical emergencies and to transport non-emergency patients to hospitals and clinics for essential treatment. At times, when the weather was particularly severe, they were used to ferry frontline staff to and from work and to transport medical supplies to ambulance stations. Mick Farmer, Assistant Director of Fleet at YAS, said, “We worked with Ripon Land Rover last winter during periods of adverse weather and we are extremely grateful for their continued support again this year. This type of back up is now part of our winter plan. YAS operates over vastly different terrain and severe weather, such as heavy snow and ice, can cause hazardous driving conditions for our ambulance staff. This year, in the worst hit areas, 4x4 vehicles proved to be a lifeline to patients requiring medical assistance.” Bill Houseman, a Director of Ripon Land Rover said, “We welcome the challenge of giving an instantaneous response to the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, whose standards must be maintained irrespective of the demands of the extreme winter weather.”
www.redcross.org.uk
www.yas.nhs.uk
dig through four feet of snow to release one of our carers and their client after they were trapped by an avalanche that fell from the roof.”
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West Yorkshire Police
Isle of Wight Ambulance Service
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) loaned 19 4x4 vehicles to West Yorkshire Police’s Operations Support Division (OSD).
West Yorkshire Police’s Operations Support Division (OSD) played a fundamental role in keeping the force running throughout January’s snowy period by setting up a Strategic Coordinating Centre and agreeing the loan of more 4x4 vehicles from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). The worst of the weather hit on 5 January and led to a coordinated effort by the OSD Logistics and Planning Department in providing information to divisions where some staff were having difficulty in getting into work. The sustained period of severe weather also placed extreme demands on the force’s vehicle fleet as some areas of the region were only accessible by 4x4 vehicles. While essential services such as firearms support and motorway patrols could be
Greater Manchester Police
www.westyorkshire.police.uk
www.iow.nhs.uk
Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service
Neighbourhood Policing Teams in Greater Manchester worked around the clock to help stranded residents during the snowfall, providing vital supplies, helping to clear pathways and digging people out who had become stuck in their vehicles. Many officers and police staff donned their wellies and walked to work to ensure a high level of service was maintained. Call handlers struggled through deep snow and some walked over five miles to get to the force’s headquarters to make sure emergency calls were dealt with. Others with 4x4 vehicles in Openshawe ferried colleagues to and from work and an officer in Stockport used his 4x4 in his spare time to assist stranded motorists. In Rochdale The Countryside Ranger Service lent 4x4 vehicles to the police to help them respond to emergencies, enabling officers to reach residents who would otherwise be impossible to reach. Police were even able to use the snow to catch criminals. Officers arrested two men for trying to break into vehicles parked on driveways after following their footprints in the snow. www.gmp.police.uk
maintained by utilising the 4x4 vehicles at OSD, additional 4x4 vehicles to enable divisions to respond to calls for service were in short supply. A mutual aid agreement was made by ACC Mark Gilmore with PSNI to temporarily loan a number of their 4x4 vehicles. At short notice, 19 Mitsubishi Shogun 4x4s were transported by ferry from Belfast and collected by staff from Operations Support Division from Liverpool docks. They were then taken to Unit 41 garage where a team of staff carried out safety checks and made temporary changes to the vehicle livery. The vehicles were then distributed to all divisions later the same day for operational use.
From 5–11 January the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service teamed up with the Bembridge, West Wight and Ventnor Coastguard teams to ensure they could continue to deliver vital frontline services and reach all the emergency calls. The ambulance 4x4 vehicles, which are usually reserved for patient transport, were also used to visit patients in remote and isolated places. Nearly 40% of emergency calls received from midnight on 4 January to midnight on 8 January were responded to in a 4x4. Chris Smith, Head of the Ambulance Service, said, “With the help of our partners we have been able to respond to all life threatening emergencies despite the weather. The coastguard vehicles, along with our eight 4x4s and one loaned to us by St John Ambulance have allowed us to access areas of the island that would have otherwise been impossible to get to.” NHS Isle of Wight also brought in additional help from more than 50 volunteer 4x4 drivers to get staff to work at St Mary’s Hospital. These volunteer drivers also did 19 trips to dialysis patients, helped five district nurses make multiple visits and collected prescriptions for patients in isolated areas.
On 6 January 2010 Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service firefighters were called by Police Community Support Officers to reports of a boy who’d fallen through ice into icy water and somehow managed to climb onto an island in the middle of the pool. Specialist rescue crews were brought in to construct a bridge that was used to rescue the boy who was then passed to emergency medical crews.
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London Fire Brigade
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service
During the severe weather London Fire Brigade set up a London Local Authority Coordination Centre (LLACC) to support borough councils across the capital. Based in Clapham, the 24 hour a day centre is activated by the brigade’s emergency planning team when there is a need for councils to work together, coordinate resources, share information and make strategic decisions. The LLACC carried out important work including: coordinating mutual aid between boroughs and Transport for London (TfL), resulting in over a thousand tonnes of grit being exchanged between boroughs; daily collating of London’s grit stock levels; supporting the London Ambulance Service by facilitating borough level assistance in the supply of grit to ambulance stations; and providing a single point of contact for a range of agencies, issuing situation reports to local and central Government and ensuring information was shared across the city. The brigade is currently running a consultation on its plans for the future of the fire service in the capital, including proposals to expand this vital emergency planning role. Cllr Brian Coleman AM FRSA, Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, said, “The brigade has a proven track record of effective partnership working and extensive experience of dealing with emergencies, and we want to build on this by expanding the groups which our coordination centre can formally work with. For instance, we want to be able to forge closer links with other GLA bodies like Transport for London as well as the voluntary sector and other emergency services.” www.london-fire.gov.uk
Surrey Police In Surrey, the heavy snowfalls started on the evening of 5 January and Surrey Police and partner agencies worked around the clock to respond to the situation and keep the county moving. In Hersham, officers rescued a woman who had been missing for several hours after going out to walk her dog in heavy snow. The woman had tried to reach her pet from some bracken in woodland at the back of a golf course and ended up in a drainage ditch. Had the officers not found her when they did, it is unlikely she would have survived the freezing conditions. The woman was in such a difficult place that one of the officers had to carry her out on their shoulders to where the ambulance could reach them. Another officer, attempting to get to Guildford, couldn’t get through the Hindhead crossroads which had been closed due to the snow. A queue had formed back into Hampshire and some people had been stuck in their cars for up to 16 hours. An Inspector went on foot patrol and spoke to drivers to check on them and was able to divert some of the lighter vehicles from the A3 towards Haslemere which eased some of the congestion. He then arranged for a snowplough and a gritter to remove the ice allowing vehicles to start moving again. He stayed to help direct the traffic which was flowing normally again by lunchtime. www.surrey.police.uk
Derbyshire and Leicestershire Air Ambulance lands in a residential street in Nottingham during the snow.
When thick black ice made it difficult even for fire engines to reach a trapped motorist in a quiet Nottingham street, Incident Commander Dave Stevenson from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service knew he had to make a quick decision in order to get the casualty to hospital. Knowing how treacherous the roads were, and that the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) was under significant pressure (they were receiving emergency calls at the rate of one a minute), Station Manager Stevenson decided to step outside of the usual protocol and request the air ambulance via Fire Control. Luckily the Derbyshire and Leicestershire Air Ambulance was on route from another incident and was able to make a detour to the stricken motorist. Minutes later, to the amazement of local residents, the helicopter touched down in the street right outside their front doors. Station Manager Stevenson said, “The roads were treacherous and we were struggling to get the appliances up the street, so I knew a conventional ambulance would find it difficult too. We had to chock both of the appliances in attendance and one of them had skidded sideways in the road. “We had four fire service vehicles there, including a specialist rescue unit, and lots of members of the public around. I knew we had to do something, so I made the decision to request the air ambulance. Fortunately we were near a junction with another road, so there was enough clearance for it to land.” The incident was just one in several that day where emergencies services in Nottinghamshire supported each other during Britain’s most chal-
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Specialist Rescue Team used the weather as an opportunity to practice its rescue techniques on a frozen lake.
lenging winter weather for decades. Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service received a number of calls from the police, EMAS and members of the public to help people who had slipped on ice. In one incident, firefighters gave first aid to a woman who had slipped and banged her head near to service headquarters, before taking her to hospital in a fire and rescue service vehicle. www.notts-fire.gov.uk
Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service’s 4x4 vehicles were in action throughout the snow and ice helping the ambulance service. From 5–11 January 4x4 vehicles from both Coleford and Cirencester were used to help assist the ambulance service in responding to emergency calls. In total, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service provided 24/7 cover for five days across the county and drove in excess of 490 miles to help the ambulance service.
In the Stroud area, Community Steps, Gloucestershire County Council’s care service, and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, linked up to help a vulnerable man in need of emergency respite care. The fire and rescue service used one of its 4x4s to drive home support workers to the man in Edge, who has serious mobility problems. www.glosfire.gov.uk
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Kent Fire and Rescue Service
Several days of severe weather led Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) to take the unusual step of calling on the army for support. While the number of incidents were relatively low during the period of inclement conditions, and careful management of operational staff and equipment meant the service was operating as normal, concern was raised about the continuing poor access to parts of the county. With further forecasts of bad weather, the decision to have the army on standby was made as part of well rehearsed contingency plans and, on 9 January, units were deployed at seven fire stations across Kent and Medway. Each team was given accommodation and full access to the facilities at each station, accompanying firefighters on certain callouts with their heavy all terrain 4x4 vehicles to supplement KFRS’s own capability. KFRS Chief Fire Officer Charlie Hendry said,
“As an emergency rescue service we have to be ready to prepare for every eventuality and being able to call on the army is an established aspect of Kent’s resilience planning. The army were swift in their response and their crews worked closely with our own staff.” The military units were based at Ashford, Folkestone, Maidstone, Thames-side in Gravesend, Medway (Watling Street), Thanet (Westwood Cross) and Tunbridge Wells and comprised a four tonne lorry and a Land Rover, both of which had 4x4 capability. Throughout the cold spell, KFRS set up its major incident room and also worked in close collaboration with partners such as Kent Police, Kent County Council and the Highways Agency, through Gold command. It also kept in touch with neighbouring fire and rescue services and agreed to provide mutual assistance where needed.
BASICS (British Association for Immediate care) doctors, nurses and paramedics braved the appalling conditions to assist the UK’s ambulance services in reaching and caring for the ill and injured. Trained and equipped at their own expense and, where available, with charitable donations these individuals have some amazing stories to tell from the past few weeks. BASICS Berkshire doctor and local GP Graham Stiff was shopping with his wife on 6 January when ambulance control contacted him about a six year old boy who had fallen through the ice into the lake at his home in Crookham Common near Newbury. Dr Stiff recalls, “I arrived at the scene in about 10 minutes, shortly after the first ambulance crew. At that stage we were uncertain about what had happened but knew that a five year old friend had seen the boy walk out and fall into the water. It was bitterly cold. We dragged down a boat to the waters edge and started to break the ice. Soon we were joined by fire and rescue teams in ‘dry suits’ and my role then changed to that of planning our resuscitation response once the boy had been found.” Joined by the paramedic crew of the Thames Valley Air Ambulance Dr Stiff (who also volunteers as a doctor for the air ambulance) led the on scene resuscitation efforts once the boy had been located after some 30 minutes of searching and the subsequent care during the air transfer to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Typical of BASICS volunteers Dr Stiff then went onto his surgery to see his own patients who had appointments to see him that evening. Dr Stiff said, “This is an example of the worth of good, immediate prehospital care and the teamwork between ambulance, police and fire and rescue services that led to the child being delivered alive into hospital.”
set in place for operating in adverse weather conditions. These involve working in close partnership with other agencies to ensure a timely response to calls. We are also in the unique position to be able to support other emergency services, with our 4x4 support vehicles enabling us to co–respond to incidents as they occur.”
No back up Dr Ian Morris, a Devon GP and member of BASICS PLIMS, battled through extreme conditions with snow chains to reach patients. He recalls that, “At times there were so many calls due to the bad weather I was attending road accidents with no ambulance, police or fire service backup.” His colleagues have been similarly busy with one called to attend an accident where a 4x4 ambulance had skidded and ended up on its side after encountering black ice. Derbyshire emergency medicine consultant, Dr Pam Hardy is a volunteer BASICS doctor with BASICS EMICS in the East Midlands and has nothing but praise for her colleagues and other volunteers from first responder groups and mountain rescue teams who were involved in not only providing emergency care to patients but on some occasions also transporting them to rendezvous with ambulances at accessible sites. Dr Hardy also commented on the commitment to her own safety by the ambulance service and her neighbours, saying, “Ambulance Control have been fantastic on checking we are safe throughout our journey and getting back home. One of my neighbours even offered me the use of his Land Rover so that I could continue to respond when the snow was too deep for my own car.”
www.dsfire.gov.uk
www.basics.org.uk
www.kent.fire-uk.org
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service On the snowy night of 12 January Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service was kept busy working in partnership with other emergency services as they assisted motorists who were left stranded in their cars. The service’s first aid response vehicles, with medically trained crews, worked alongside the ambulances and paramedics where its 4x4 vehicles were able to get to the areas that the ambulances couldn’t. The urban search and rescue team from Station 60 was also present with extra 4x4s and a mobilised 4x6, as well as quad bikes, which were used to drive alongside the queues of traffic to check on drivers and passengers stuck in their cars. An emergency rescue centre was set up with volunteers at Chudleigh Town Hall and the service also assisted the AA with people who had run out of fuel or whose vehicles had broken down and needed towing. Dave Robinson, Area Commander for Somerset, said, “We have tried and tested contingency plans
BASICS
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Surrey Fire and Rescue Service
RSPCA The arctic conditions presented huge challenges for the RSPCA. All regions were on emergency response, with many officers unable to respond and get on the road. Icy conditions were the main threat. Main roads were clear, in the main, allowing some mobility but the estates and rural areas were very difficult and sometimes impossible to enter and exit. The RSPCA deployed its own Land Rovers and 4x4s where available and hired vehicles to assist with maintaining a service. The National Control Centre (NCC) was pushing back on non emergency incidents and this stayed in place until 12 January 2010. The priority was the health and safety of the field staff in terms of not putting themselves at risk, going out unnecessarily. Officers working from home worked on administrative tasks taking incidents offered by the NCC and dealt with over the telephone when possible. If an officer felt that they needed to respond in terms of a physical visit, then they had to risk assess their situation.
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service’s fleet of off road vehicles was made available to partners during the snow to ensure critical care services could continue to operate supporting the most vulnerable in the county. Uses included the transportation of ambulance staff in a service 4x4 to their stranded vehicle; the safe delivery of four critical care staff to East Surrey
Hospital; and supporting social services to carry out essential visits to 16 vulnerable people. The service’s well executed winter response strategy, which includes simple measures such as snow chains for fire appliances, enabled the service to continue to operate as normal with minimal impact on operational cover and the quality of service. www.surrey-fire.gov.uk
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust (SECAmb) has praised the dedication and support of the voluntary sector, the public and staff during the outbreak of severe weather. The trust, which declared a major incident on 6 January due to the heavy snow, received support from St John Ambulance Service, the British Red Cross and community first responders, who provided 4x4 vehicles, ambulances, officer support and
ferried some staff to and from work to ensure maximum cover across the region. Assistance also came from members of the public volunteering to assist the council to help clear access and salt the entrance to Midhurst ambulance station and 4x4 companies offering use of their vehicles. www.secamb.nhs.uk
Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) agreed to consider any request to respond to an RSPCA request for possible assistance to attend stranded livestock and facilitate transport of food to affected animals. Inspectors braved the elements to help farm animals caught up in the weather and RSPCA joined forces with the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) to set up a welfare hotline to assist farmers and their animals affected by the snow, ice and sub zero temperatures. The helpline was designed to take calls either from farmers directly or the NFU that relate to critical animal welfare issues that constitute emergency imminent or real threat to animal welfare, eg stranded/marooned livestock that could not be reached by any normal means to be fed, power cut or threat of power cut to active intensive farm units, farms that were without any feed stuff and which could not be reached for delivery purposes. Call volumes to the RSPCA National Control Centre were up over a thousand calls over and above the same time last year on some days. www.rspca.org.uk
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Backstage teams were stars of the snow in Lincolnshire Firefighters, rescue teams and police officers put in an amazing effort during the severe weather in extraordinary conditions. However, just as important but often less celebrated are the teams that work tirelessly behind the scenes throughout the year, as well as during bad weather, to plan for these events. At Lincolnshire County Council, the highways planning team and emergency planners, were just two examples of the often unseen work that helped county residents during the big freeze. Head of Emergency Planning at the council, David Powell, said, “Lincolnshire, as a county, faces significant challenges during severe weather not only due to its size, but also our rurality, extensive road network and larger than average number of older people who choose to retire in the popular coastal areas. “As was the case nationally, the work that all agencies put in during this time was extensive. Our fire and rescue service worked with the police to assist at multiple road traffic collisions and several animal rescue operations. Highways gritting teams worked around the clock, going out in treacherous conditions. The work that all of the teams put in to prepare for these conditions and the planning that goes on all year round, is often overlooked, but is vital in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken when needed.” Managing grit stocks While other authorities ran short of salt and grit for their roads, Lincolnshire’s highways maintenance team managed to provide supplies to other authorities while retaining sufficient stock for county roads. Lincolnshire has the third largest road network in England, covering some 5500 miles, and the success of managing these grit stocks has been put down to effective planning and supply management. Darrel Redford, Highways Maintenance Engineer at Lincolnshire County Council, said, “Being a coastal county our salt stocks come from global sources including Europe, Africa and South America, so we were less affected by national salt shortages from UK suppliers. Having such a large
highways network means that this reliability and management of stock is imperative to keep our roads as safe as possible. As well as ensuring we had large supplies built up for the winter period, we also booked in frequent deliveries to maintain these levels throughout the severe weather. Our gritting teams did fantastic work out on the road network but this behind the scenes planning was also key to ensure we could continue to grit 35% of our road network.” Warning and informing During the cold weather, Lincolnshire County Council had several reports from voluntary agencies such as the Red Cross about vulnerable people who had not left the house in weeks. A non-emergency number was activated at Lincolnshire County Council’s call centre, that had been set up earlier in the year to be used in such situations, by the Warning and Informing group. The group is coordinated by Lincolnshire’s emergency planning team and works to support the emergency work of
all agencies in the county. Emergency Planning Officer, Leanne Hunt/Paula Ireland, said, “Some people had not been out of their homes since well before Christmas and by January they needed to get repeat prescriptions and to replenish the store cupboard. We used the local media to ask people to be neighbourly, and to look out for vulnerable people in their communities. By activating the phone number, we could also provide advice and support for serious concerns about a person’s welfare as a result of them not being able to get out of their homes.” The phone number resulted in assistance being provided to several people via voluntary agencies. This included collecting medication, assisting with heating problems and checking in on elderly people. There were also calls from people offering assistance with transport or support services. The information gained during the severe January weather will also be used to build intelligence and community resilience during future emergencies. www.lincolnshire.gov.uk
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service The Operations Support Room at Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) was running 24 hours a day during the extreme weather conditions. The majority of incidents attended by RBFRS during the heavy snow conditions were assisting South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) reach patients, using the brigade’s fleet of off road capability vehicles. The service also used its off road vehicles to transport midwives so that they could attend to patients who were about to give birth and unable to get to hospital. Many staff struggled into work despite appalling road and travel conditions, with some setting out hours or even days early to ensure that they made it in. The brigade received praise from SCAS for its support in getting paramedics to inaccessible patients and members of the public were also very grateful for help. Three off road fire fighting capacity vehicles and additional 4x4 vehicles were avail-
able to support appliances and crews where needed. Area Manager (Response) Andy Mancey, said, “This was an excellent example of how the emergency services can work together to help people in urgent situations. With road conditions remaining treacherous across Berkshire for several weeks, it was no easier for us to get around than anybody else, as anyone who was driving an appliance in the icy and snowy conditions will know, but the fact that we continued to do our job so well highlights the skill and dedication of our staff.” www.rbfrs.co.uk
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One (not so) fine day in Cockermouth… What follows is an extract from a diary of how the Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) responded during the severe flooding that hit Cumbria in late November. It is written from my personal perspective and no doubt I will have got mixed up with some of the timings and missed who did what. If this is the case I apologise, it wasn’t intended, it was my water soaked brain! We were assisted by Wasdale, Keswick, Penrith, Coniston, Teesdale & Weardale and Swaledale MRTs, along with Maryport Inshore Lifeboat. The team and I can’t thank these teams enough for the valuable assistance they provided to us throughout this memorable week. It is Thursday 19 November. 5:30am – Got up as usual, to go down to Cockermouth Sports Centre and the twice weekly early morning circuits. It was absolutely tipping it down and I am soaked to the skin before we even get started on the gym gear. 7:30am – Drive back home down the Main Street in Cockermouth and its still raining. 8:30am – Showered and changed and I am back on the road doing my usual commute to work over the fell road. The rain was still coming down and the roads are starting to gather some RAF flying in to winch MRT team members to safety. water. 9:00am – In the office, I 11:00am – We walk down Station Street and onto switch on the computer and start dealing with the Main Street, some of us fully kitted up in dry suits, emails that don't seem to stop! most in buoyancy aids. We feel totally out of place 9:30am – Get a call from the local police inspecin amongst people who are going about their daily tor who is concerned about the rising levels of the lives, shopping and going into the pubs for an early rivers in Cockermouth, and wants me to consider lunch. We continue down High Sands Lane which calling the team out to deal with possible flooding. leads from Main Street down to the river Derwent I agree to start things moving and agree to meet where the river Cocker flows into it, opposite Jenwith him at our base at 11:00am. nings Brewery. By now two of our vehicles have Switch the computer off and pop my head round joined us – traffic management is going to be a the door to tell my boss that things aren’t right in Cockermouth and I am leaving work again! (under- headache here. My wife phones to ask if I think the hairdressers standing bosses – best thing since sliced bread!) will still be open in town. “should be,” I reply, Driving back over the fell was even more difficult flooding or not you can’t stop your wife getting her as the flooding was getting worse. On the way over, hair cut! I get in touch with the team’s three deputies and The local police are on Waterloo Street which is most of the SRT trained team members to give at the bottom of High Sands Lane. It always gets them the heads up. Call in at home on the way to pick up my personal SRT gear as I now have a feel- the ‘butt’ of any flooding in the town, and already the residents have put up their ‘floodgates’ across ing we are going to need all available gear. their doors and are piling up sandbags. There is an 10:15am – I arrive at the base and already some argument going on between two neighbours on of the team have showed up. We send out a voicewho should have more sandbags! mail to all of the team now and start getting gear Speaking to the police, they tell me the inspector ready. I get a call from Mike Graham (Penrith is tied up with flooding up river in Keswick and MRT) at Gold Command, Police HQ in Penrith. will be delayed, they are now advising residents to He makes me aware of the situation throughout leave their homes and go to a reception centre set Cumbria and the fact that Keswick is flooding, and up in the local secondary school. We start helping Ambleside and Kendal are dealing with local floods. He has now alerted all teams throughout the the police in carrying out door to door checks, advising the residents and offering assistance and Lakes and given a heads up to teams from out of transport out of the street. However, these people the county. We agree that we will only move teams have been flooded numerous times before, and into different areas through the control of Gold another flood is not going to shift them again! Command. At least one in five of the people in this area were 10:45am – Quick brief with our team, in which not going to leave their properties, and those that we agree who will do what, where and what equipagree to, insist on bringing bags and suitcases full ment must be worn and used.
of possessions. The team is accommodating, but it is eating into our time. 11:15am – The Cocker is now rising rapidly and the Brewery bridge is now hit by several large logs and branches. The entire bridge is shaken by these hits, and it is then that we decide to barrier the bridge off with police barrier tape. The walls of gardens, which are now holding back the river are showing signs of collapse, and water is streaming through the mortar. The water in the streets is now up to your knees, and the team is concentrating on moving people from homes Photo: Cockermouth MRT that are in immediate threat of being trapped. We now decide to move the vehicles out of Waterloo Street and up to the top of High Sands Lane as we can’t risk losing a vehicle in the rising waters. It’s now I get asked to carry out my first radio interview, from a reporter inappropriately dressed in her Ugg boots and long tweed jacket. We get this over with and help push her car back onto dry land. 1:30pm – We have withdrawn from Waterloo Street and all of the area to the north of Main Street bordering the Derwent. The water in Main
Brewery bridge under siege.
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Difficult rescue on Challoner Street.
Photo: Cockermouth MRT
Street is now up to your knees and the police are now starting to close the street to vehicles. The call comes on the radio to head to South Street which is now experiencing heavy flooding. South Street leads off Station Street down to the footbridge across the Cocker. The water is already lying halfway down South Street and you were up to your waist by the time you reached the bridge. The local fire and rescue crew were already on the scene walking and carrying people out of their properties. Again we encountered resistance by residents to leave their homes. It was around this time that the Cocker ‘jumped’ out of its bed and started to hit the streets. South Street is approximately two to three metres higher in elevation than the Main Street 200m to the north. This difference in elevation effected what we were up against in this area of the town, in that the water was cascading down the streets leading from South Street thundering down towards Main Street at speeds of up to 25mph. There was now a very real danger of being swept down these streets by the sheer force of water. The team immediately started accessing properties through the ‘bay’ windows along the street, plucking people who were trapped in ground floor rooms, unable to even get upstairs. Once South Street was cleared, we moved into the area of houses and flats north of South Street and south of Main Street. Challoner Street, a street leading off South Street connecting down onto Main Street, was running water at phenomenal speeds. The water level at this junction at its peak will not have been greater than 50cm; however because of the draw of water from Main Street, the flow around this junction banked the water with a difference in level of up to a metre. The sheer scouring effect of this flow created a 1.5m deep hole across the width of the street, 6m in length, cutting through tarmac, base coat and exposing gas, water and electric lines. The force of the water further down Challoner Street bent concrete lampposts flat and tore garage doors from their hinges. This street soon became a ‘no go’ area to us, meaning that we had to evacuate people through
the relative ‘slacker water’, back yards and over walls. Again there were blocks of housing and flats here that had become inaccessible islands unreachable to us and the other emergency services that were now descending on the town. 4:00pm – I leave the team dealing with the evacuation north of South Street to attend a meeting with the police at our base. Walking towards the base I am stopped by a lady from Sainsbury's who is worried about one of her colleagues who has turned up there after being in the water rescuing his grandmother. I am led to the young lad who is soaked from head to toe and violently shivering and struggling to control his breathing. I march him the 100m up the road to our base where he is quickly put into the shower and attended to by our doctor.
Bronze Command is now fully in control, with numerous desks allocated to various agencies. By this time, calls had been made to Keswick and Wasdale teams. Keswick were still busy dealing with their own town, but Wasdale were already on route to us with their boat. Maryport Inshore Lifeboat was also mobilised, aiming to assist us in the north of the town, now separated from us by an ever widening Derwent. I now get chance to sit down with the police (Inspector now returned from dealing with flooding in Keswick), fire and rescue, and the ambulance service. This I guess was our first of many Bronze command meetings. We quickly agree to split and map the flooded areas of the town into six areas. Most of these areas are ‘naturally’ divided by actual rivers or ‘street rivers’ that we now seem to have inherited. We highlight to the group that we now have genuine concerns about properties along Main Street and Challoner Street as to their structural stability against the force and weight of water. By this time
the water depth on Main Street is chest high and rising. Boats from the RNLI, fire and rescue and Environment Agency have been launched on Main Street to evacuate residents still trapped. The team is working to the north of the Derwent, evacuating houses and flats on Derwent Side and Derwent Mills. 5:00pm – A request is put in for air assets to support the rescue and evacuation of trapped residents. These assets are already deployed throughout the county. 6:00pm – The water on Main Street is neck deep. We formulate a plan to deploy SRT teams into ‘slack pools’ in the town with the intention that these teams will work through the back streets and yards to get to trapped residents in the six areas. Croft Bowling Green between South Street and Main Street is identified as one of these pools. To get to it, we will need to be winched down from a Sea King. 7:00pm – Main Street is now unpassable and is estimated to be a ‘Grade 5 river’. The water on Main Street reached a maximum depth of 2.5m. 8:00pm – There is a call to the police that six people are trapped on the upper floor of the Black Bull pub on Main Street. They have reported that the building is shaking under their feet. A team of six SRTs are picked up from the playing field just above the base and are winched down into the Croft Bowling Green, 100m to the south of the pub. This team was made up of two members from Wasdale team and four of us from Cockermouth. The plan is to lower the first two into the water, they will indicate to the winchman if they are happy with the conditions. Thumbs down and we pull them out, thumbs up and we all go in. The plan is to work our way to the back of the Black Bull as best we can. Once there we will locate the people and identify a safe place for the winchman to evacuate. Should we find things too dangerous, we are to be winched out from the original drop off. Should everything go pear shaped and we are unable to get out or be winched out, we spend the night in a building until the waters subside. Standing up front in the cockpit of the chopper, I find the whole scene below me totally unrecognisable, the usual landmarks have just disappeared under dirty brown water. Things start to become clearer as tops of belisha beacons are still flashing despite being up to their necks in river! We spot the Black Bull and the bowling green behind. The first two are lowered down. There’s a thumbs up and they swim to the perimeter wall. The rest of us are lowered into the neck deep water – this was a surreal moment. We ‘pod up’ at the wall (a term invented by our SRT instructor Dave Watkinson, Patterdale MRT). We pick our way down side streets until we come to a set of garages, where the current becomes too strong. We discuss our options and choose to climb on to the garage roofs. Dropping down the other side we are in some more slack water, but the way forward is across a street with another strong current. We form a line and wade out into the current, the water getting deeper as we advance. We are still 3m short of a lamppost on the other side. The team attached me to the end of a throw line and I have a go at swimming to the other side. The current catches me and I just miss grabbing the corner of a
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represent mountain rescue and communicate the situation from the sharp end. I am invited to a Silver command meeting, to discuss the tactical situation. From this meeting I am requested to accompany representatives from the other agencies in carrying out a ‘risk appraisal’ flight over the town. Before this flight takes place, I stand up front in another chopper to guide another mountain rescue SRT pod drop into another slack water pool, north of Main Street adjacent to the now flooded police station. The ‘risk appraisal’ flight takes place, during which I find us in a parking hover with two other Sea Kings, parked like taxis along the length of Main Street. The strops are lowered for three women that have been located by our recently dropped SRT pod.
Evacuating properties at the back of Waterloo Street.
Photo: Cockermouth MRT
wall. The lads pull me back to safety, floating on my back. We reassess and this time try from further upstream, belayed off a bollard. I make the wall and dive over a hedge into slack water. I belay to the lamppost and we now have a diagonal running line to ferry glide across on. The pod comes over one at a time, a warning shout, but Steve catches a wooden gate in the chest. Steve is just winded but it’s a close call. We leave the running line in situ as we may be coming back this way. We cross the slack water, climb a wall and drop into the beer garden of the Black Bull. We skirt tight to the wall, as the water is being sucked through a wrought iron gate and disappearing into a ‘black hole’ that was the back door to the pub. We warn each other that this is somewhere we don’t want to go, as the water is only 20cm from the top of the door. It was at this time that we all recognised that we were safer out of the water, and on the roofs, an environment more suited to a mountain rescue team! We climb onto the flat roof at the back of the pub and soon make contact with its six inhabitants. They appear fine considering their ordeal; it seems some have administered their own medication of one or two pints of Jennings. We call up the RAF and soon a winchman is descending down to us. They winch up the six and move off to deliver them to waiting ambulances. While waiting for the helicopter’s return we discover three women in an adjoining third floor flat. They are safe and happy to sit it out. Further along the roofs we find a family of four including two young children. The boys aged six and 10 are keen to go in a helicopter, so we rope the entire family over to our pick up site. Below our roof we find a pregnant lady and her partner, and next door an older couple. The pregnant lady and her partner are roped up to us, but we decide the older couple will not be able to come to our location safely. The chopper returns and winches out our fresh six. Again they return, with the winchman going through the window to pull out the older couple. This was amazing to watch as the crew are having to deal with overhead wires and television masts on top of gusting winds and continuous rain. We wait for the helicopter’s return, during which we are able to get a good look down and across Main Street, shouting reassurance to people
trapped on the opposite side. The Chopper returns and strops are dropped for us, we move out. 9:30pm – Back in the base for a cup of soup. Gote Road to the north of the town is now impassable meaning a further 300+ people could be possibly trapped.
Team vehicle on Waterloo Street.
Photo: Cockermouth MRT
Bronze Command has now moved out of our base and into the fire and rescue regional headquarters, because of concerns that the power may fail in our base. ARCC has sent down a pilot to control the helicopters that are now part of this incident. I can see that this is a big relief to our base team, as things have become extremely busy in the last two hours. I walk over to fire and rescue headquarters to find that Bronze Command is now fully in control, with numerous desks allocated to various agencies. 10:00pm – Bronze meeting in fire and rescue headquarters at which the following agencies are represented: police; fire and rescue; North West Ambulance Service; Environment Agency; International Rescue Corps; Red Cross; RSPCA; National Health Service; RNLI; and RAF Regiment. Where did all these people come from? I make a mental note to ensure that we have at least one member from the team present in this room at all times to
Day 2 - Friday 20th November 12:00am – Boats are once again trying to launch on Main Street. The force of water may have slackened, but the level has not dropped and hidden obstacles are proving hazardous. Our pod is recovered from the north of Main Street by a RNLI boat. 2:00am – Flying again, this time to be dropped into Irene Court, a slack water pool north of Main Street, and south of Waterloo Street. The word comes from the RAF crew, that all the crews are now showing signs of fatigue and that, although they will stay on station, they should only winch for ‘life threatening’ situations. We agree to identify only such situations and reassure other trapped residents that we would be back at daylight. Winched down again and the water feels colder than last time. We work our way through numerous yards and squares, reassuring trapped residents and wading chest deep in extremely polluted flood water. We work our way north to Waterloo Street and find it totally impossible to cross to the houses and flats on the opposite side, bordering the Derwent. It was during this time we hear of the collapse of the Northside Bridge and loss of PC Bill Barker. The choppers are called to Workington immediately to begin searching for the police officer. I guess at the time, it just didn’t sink in what this tragic news meant, but it lingered in the back of your mind to stay alert and watch out for your team. Later on we heard reports (false thankfully) of a further bridge collapse with several people seen falling into the river. We located a care home with 10 elderly and disabled residents, along with three staff. We assessed that it was safer to leave them till daylight and reassured them of this plan. We make our way to Main Street, sit on a car roof and are eventually picked up by a passing inflatable. I have a shower to wash off my gear and warm up. I get my head down for a couple of hours. A truly unbelievable day. www.mountain.rescue.org.uk
This is an abridged version of an article that first appeared in the January 2010 issue of Mountain Rescue Magazine.
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Author: Mike Park, Cockermouth MRT team leader
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AA goes ‘beyond the call of duty’ Cumbria evokes images of soaring mountains, peaceful lakes and the quintessentially English image of sheep grazing lazily on hill pastures. But for the emergency responders, including the AA’s Special Operations Response Team (AA SORT), Cumbria last November was very different. The unprecedented rainfall, in an area already saturated, wrought havoc in the towns, villages and valleys across the county. The AA deployed its specialist team on 18 November, in response to the weather warnings, so was in place ready for the full force of the weather and its effects on the following morning. The team uses Land Rovers with specialist recovery equipment, crewed by certified Swiftwater Rescue Technicians trained to undertake vehicle recovery in flood zones.
A592 Pooley Bridge to Glenridding.
A592 Pooley Bridge to Glenridding, by Ullswater.
The team was based initially in Kendal where, thanks to the hospitality of the Premier Inn, they set up a temporary control centre. Under direction from Police Silver Command, two vehicles were dispatched from Ambleside along the A591 to Grasmere and A593 to Skelwith Bridge to identify and assist motorists who were stranded between floods. Two further vehicles spent the day dealing with stranded motorists in the Ullswater and Windermere areas.
Vehicle removal Over the next couple of days, as the flood waters rose then receded, the team moved a unit to Cockermouth and assisted with removing some of the vehicles which had flooded and floated in the High Street, including one which had ended up through the window of Lloyds TSB. One of the AA SORT technicians, Andy Smith from Basingstoke, Hampshire, remarked, “Personally, I’d not experienced a live flood zone like that before, but the training we’d been given really came into its own. It was hard seeing people whose homes and livelihoods had been so utterly destroyed, but rewarding to be able to help them in some small way.”
The AA team is equipped to deal specifically with vehicle recovery in floods and snow. John Seymour, the AA’s Special Operations Manager, commented, “What this team enables us to do is to combine the AA’s expertise in dealing with vehicles with a professional and competent ability to operate in a flood zone. That enabled us to keep operating in Cumbria when many other local and national vehicle recovery services had to withdraw.” Snow response No sooner had the floods in Cumbria dissipated than the snow began to fall across the UK and the nation ground almost to a halt. Seymour adds, “The beauty of the SORT team is that we can deploy to wherever we are needed, whether it’s floods, or snow, or the mud that often accompanies summer shows and festivals when the traditional rain arrives.” The team saw action during December and January as far north as Scotland, into Wales, and across England. In north London, one crew was involved in an impromptu rescue of a different kind. An elderly lady fell on the ice and, it later turned out, had broken her leg in two places. The emergency services were having great difficulty in moving around, and it took the ambulance nearly an hour to reach her. The two AA patrols, Steve Dickinson and Richard Payne, stayed with her and lay one each side of her to keep her warm, while keeping her calm and alert. A family member wrote to the AA, “I hate to think what may have happened if Steve and Richard hadn’t been there, and I can’t thank you all enough from the bottom of my heart for your care and concern. Far beyond the call of duty.” www.theaa.com
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Bay Search and Rescue Team ACTIVE support
The devastation was clear to see with cars thrown everywhere and roads and walls ripped apart by the force of the water.
Flookburgh based Bay Search and Rescue (BSAR) were called to assist in the Cockermouth floods rescue effort as part of its new role assisting Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service. The team’s Hagglund ATERV (all terrain emergency response vehicle) and Land Rover ambulance was escorted under blue lights to Cockermouth on Friday 20 November where the eight strong BSAR crew worked alongside teams from all over the UK to help evacuate residents, and provide assistance to those wishing to remain in their houses.
Initially in the raging fast moving floods, powerful boats were used. Subsequently as the water levels dropped and the amount of debris increased, in and below the water, boats became less useful, but
vehicles still cannot be used, so the Hagglund ATERV, capable of carrying 18 people in warm, dry and relative comfort was a useful asset. The crews worked from arrival Friday afternoon through to late Saturday, catching bits of sleep in the vehicles in between tasks. The Hagglund was the last vehicle operating in the town’s flooded Main Street at 1:30am on Saturday morning, and the first vehicle back in at first light mapping the flood depth and perimeters. Subsequently both BSAR vehicles were tasked to the ‘Gote’ area on the far side of the river which had been completely cut off apart from by rescue boat since the start of the floods. The Hagglund again was the first vehicle into the area and spent the rest of the day evacuating residents, including a medical emergency case by stretcher, and ferrying in bridge surveyors and engineers. It also recovered dozens of computers holding vital medical records for a large proportion of Cockermouth residents from the flooded medical centre. As the flood levels dropped and other rescue teams could gain careful access on foot, the BSAR team was stood down and returned to base early Saturday evening after a busy three days. www.bsarteam.org.uk
Fire and rescue service chiefs in Cumbria enlisted the help of community and contingency safety specialist ACTIVE Solutions Europe Ltd to keep flood affected communities safe in the aftermath of bridge closures. Four days after the floods, the service contacted ACTIVE to implement contingency plans in response to the collapse of Northside Bridge and closure of Calva Bridge in Workington. ACTIVE and Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service ran two scenarios for deployment of firefighters based on data they had collected nationwide from over 18,000 incidents during 2006, 2007 and 2008. Using this information the analysis then focused on key areas to measure the potential responsiveness and fire cover to deal with the bridge closures. The immediate impact of the bridge closures was obvious but by using a programme designed by ACTIVE, potential shifts in workload were investigated to highlight the impact on the worst affected areas – Workington and Seaton. Changing levels of risk were measured within Workington and Seaton along with the type of incidents which Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service would tackle and these results then fed into strategies into safeguarding these areas while the bridges were rebuilt or repaired. John Moorcroft, Cumbria’s Deputy Chief Fire Officer, said, “The work completed by ACTIVE has provided reassurance that we are able to maintain sufficient fire safety cover in the area. The results give us detailed information to assist us in making key decisions. The main thing we wanted from this analysis was to have a robust evidence base to ensure that we understand how risk may change and what our community fire safety teams can do to make sure our communities in the affected areas are as safe as possible.” www.activesol.co.uk
VT’s New Dimension support VT Group (VT) provided critical support to the New Dimension fleet, deployed during the recent floods in Cumbria. This support forms part of the long term capability management services provided by VT to the fire and rescue services (FRSs) in England and Wales. Initially a localised incident; within 24 hours the severity of the flooding required national assistance from the New Dimension fleet. As part of this deployment, VT provided logistical support that covered the eight High Volume Pumps (HVPs) with hose some 3km in length, the Incident Response Unit (IRU) to aid decontamination of firefighters; and the Enhanced Command Support (ECS) vehicle ensuring vital communication across the rescue team during the incident. In addition, VT deployed and manned the Mobile Maintenance Unit (MMU) vehicle, which provided 24/7 assistance and repairs to the fleet of vehicles and equipment at the Strategic Holding Area (SHA) at Teebay Services. www.vtplc.com
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A real team effort from the Environment Agency bolsters response and recovery I played a small, though highly visible role in the Environment Agency’s response to the November 2009 Cumbrian floods; a collective team effort which involved over 250 of our staff and upwards perhaps of 2500 staff from partner organisations. The floods in the worst affected areas were the largest in living memory with over 800 properties affected in Cockermouth alone. Record rainfalls leading up to the event contributed to the severity of the flooding with up to 316.4mm falling in a single 24 hour period. For me, the incident began on the 17 November. I was attending an Area Management Team meeting, at the close of which the Area Flood and Costal Risk Manager, Glyn Vaughan, said, “The forecast is telling us that we are expecting a huge amount of rainfall; over 50mm every day for the next three days – this will be falling on already saturated catchments. We all know that we have been in this position many times before and the rain hasn’t arrived, but if it does, it’s going to be a very big incident – we need to be prepared.” Major incident planning I became more closely involved in the incident the following afternoon. Several flood warnings were in place across the area and the River Eden had caused flooding at Appleby. I was asked to begin making contingency arrangements for what could become a major regional incident. We were very quickly able to arrange access to 15 large pumps and supporting equipment that might be need in the coming hours.
“Nothing could have prevented these floods, they were simply too great to contain.” The incident room was open and fully staffed. Specially trained staff were also in place to interpret weather information, monitor river and sea levels, receive emergency calls, issue flood warnings and liaise with partner organisations and the media. I am a Flood Incident Duty Officer (FIDO); the main purpose of which is to coordinate and direct the Environment Agency’s ‘on the ground’ emergency response workforce. Across Cumbria we have an emergency workforce of 34 officers. We also rallied additional support from other parts of the business and from the Midlands and North East regions to bolster numbers. In the run up to the flooding, activity in the incident room was so intense that we doubled up on some of the roles. I worked with Andy Knipe as FIDO. We made sure that flood defences were operated, that debris screens were cleared and, where possible, blockages in watercourses were cleared. A FIDO presence was maintained in the incident room throughout, but I spent the remainder of the time out on site in Cockermouth.
Chris Robinson (centre).
On Saturday 21 November, the major flood peak had passed Cockermouth. The main street that only a day ago had been up to eight feet deep in water was now dry. However, with more rain on the way, we expected more flooding and a host of regional and national TV reporters wanted to know what was going to happen next. I worked closely with the media, keeping them informed of what we were expecting and the action we were taking. In between times, I worked closely with John Dickinson and Adrian Bacon, engineers who coordinated the activities of the workforce, who were busily making repairs to flood defences that had been severely tested during the first wave of flooding. A second major issue was the need for us to remove a large tree which had lodged on a bridge in Cockermouth and which had the potential to cause a major blockage. I worked closely with the fire and rescue service, Cumbria Police, mountain rescue, a Highways Bridge Inspector and local contractors to lift the tree out of the river by crane. Recovery phase Once the floodwaters subsided, and the emergency situation has passed, the recovery process began. This is an ongoing process involving a huge swathe of public and private sector industry from ministers in Whitehall, to the workers decontaminating streets. The Environment Agency continues to play an integral role in the recovery process, through flood recovery operations, advice and guidance on waste management and cleanup operations
or liaison with professional partners to aid the reestablishment of local business and community activities. Some three months after the flooding my most vivid memories are of walking the streets of Cockermouth in the initial aftermath. I recall images of rubble strewn streets, roads calved open by raging water, the damp smell emptying from broken shop windows, intruder alarms sounding out over dark and otherwise silent streets, tide lines in the windows of abandoned cars. Most of all I remember the brightly coloured strings of wool which once filled the window of the textile shop on Main Street but later hung from road signs and tree branches, marking the passage of water through the town centre. Preparation is key Nothing could have prevented these floods, they were simply too great to contain. However, my experiences of the November 2009 floods have strengthened my view that there is a need for us to do all that we can to encourage people to prepare for flooding. This can be at the community level in the form of Flood Action Groups or at a personal level by fitting flood resilience measures to their properties. They are both very effective means of preventing and recovering from flooding which can otherwise be very lengthy and costly. www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Author: Chris Robinson, Flood Incident Duty Officer (FIDO), Environment Agency
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Cumbria Police call on water rescue specialists as flood waters rise The Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s Flood Rescue Team (FRT), which is supported by Goodyear, rescued more than 200 people during its deployment to the floods in Cumbria in November 2009. A total of 41 of the charity’s specially trained volunteers worked a shift system during an intense 24 hours rescuing people, including young children and elderly people, from the raging flood waters. At just before 5:00pm on Thursday 19 November, the RNLI’s FRT was requested by Cumbria Police to join the emergency flood response in Cockermouth. RNLI crew members from across the North of England, North Wales and the charity’s headquarters in Dorset joined other emergency services in the mammoth flood rescue operation. They travelled to the scene with specialist flood rescue equipment, including nine flood rescue lifeboats. The first RNLI teams were deployed around 10:00pm, with others joining them later, at around 2:00am on Friday 20 November. The teams worked through the night in very difficult and dangerous conditions, evacuating people from their homes in Cockermouth. At times, they were operating in 8ft deep water surging at 10-15 knots, conditions in which other rescue craft were unable to operate. One boat team was also deployed to Penrith to evacuate a small terrace of houses on the riverbank during this period. The rescue effort continued until 8:00pm on the Friday night, when the RNLI teams were stood down once the evacuation of the town was complete. The Workington all weather lifeboat crew was involved in a sea search for PC Bill Barker, who, it was later learnt, had so tragically lost his life, after the collapse of a bridge across the River Derwent. The station’s ILB and its launching tractor were also used to evacuate a small terrace of houses near the riverbank. Coordination Cumbria Police retained overall coordination of the SAR operation with RNLI Divisional Inspectors (DI) overseeing the RNLI’s involvement from the Gold Command Centre in Penrith. RNLI Deputy Divisional Inspectors were located at Silver Command in Cockermouth and other RNLI personnel provided Bronze control on the ground. Regular review meetings were held among the heads of the operation, to ensure effective multi agency response, and good use was made of the RNLI’s expertise in boat operations. In conjunction with the coordinated command of the rescue operation, lifeboat crews used their initiative and training to respond to emergencies as they became aware of them. RNLI Flood Rescue Team Every flood rescue operation is different but the RNLI has practised contingency plans, which can be rapidly adapted to meet individual circumstances, such as in Cumbria. Flood rescue equipment is maintained at each of the RNLI's divisional bases to provide an initial two boat team response and additional assets are
Photos: RNLI/Howard Fields
maintained to back these up at the charity’s headquarters in Poole. On this occasion the North and West Divisional teams responded initially and two additional boats were despatched from Poole to meet the original request for six boat teams. When requested by the police to assist with the Cumbria floods, the RNLI was able to assemble teams of volunteers and deploy into the flooded areas within five hours of initial notification.
Regular review meetings were held among the heads of the operation, to ensure effective multi agency response, and good use was made of the RNLI’s expertise in boat operations. The swiftwater rescue trained volunteer teams, made up of coastal lifeboat volunteers and staff from the charity, train all year round to ensure they can respond to the specific conditions faced during flooding, which are different to the conditions the RNLI’s volunteers usually face at sea. Hugh Fogarty, the RNLI’s Head of Fleet Operations, says, “The RNLI FRT volunteers have explained how difficult the situation was at times in Cumbria and that they had never experienced
conditions like those they faced during this incident. Water was surging through the streets at speeds of up to 25 knots and the flood water was so high in places that the FRT were rescuing people from first floor windows and taking them to safety. “Some of the situations the crews faced included rescuing five people and a dog from a house thought to be in danger of collapse. RNLI volunteer crews also helped two women who’d been trapped all night in the bank where they work. They couldn’t get out because of the bars on the bank windows, so our team had to get fire crews to them to cut through the bars, break in to the bank and get the women out. “Thanks to Goodyear, which supports the RNLI FRT, the teams are able to train regularly in the demanding swiftwater rescue skills that are required. Working with the police, fire, ambulance, coastguard and other agencies involved during the floods in Cumbria illustrated just how important regular joint exercises are.” About the RNLI FRT The RNLI FRT was formed in 2000 to provide a trained waterborne search and rescue response to natural humanitarian disasters. The RNLI FRT comprises three teams of 20 who are rostered on 24 hour, 14 day or standdown status. RNLI FRT members are all either serving volunteer crew members or operational RNLI staff who volunteer to be a part of the FRT. They also form the core of the RNLI's national flood rescue capability and are backed up by a further 100 swiftwater rescue trained (SRT) RNLI crew members or RNLI lifeguards. www.rnli.org.uk
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Assistance from the air When the weather forecast on 19 November 2009 confirmed that rainfall in Cumbria was going to deluge the Keswick, Cockermouth and Workington area, and after 24 hours of already exceptionally heavy rain, the Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Force, on 24 hour, 365 day standby, began its preparations for a major urban rescue operation. Coincidentally, the Commander of the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC) and his replacement were at a conference in Penrith which allowed them to deploy on the ground as on scene coordinators to assist the Cumbria Police in the rescue operation, generating RAF SAR assets directly from the affected area. At 5:00pm an RAF Sea King from C Flight RAF Valley took off from Anglesey in atrocious weather at the request of the ARCC. RAF Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) personnel from RAF Leeming and RAF Valley were tasked to respond, providing a Command, Control and Communications (C3) capability to coordinate search and rescue helicopter movements to and from the Helicopter Landing Site (HLS) in Penrith and search and rescue helicopter tasking in Workington. A Sea King helicopter pilot from Boulmer was nominated as the Search and Rescue Liaison Officer (SARLO) and was rapidly despatched to the Lake District to rendez vous with the MRT personnel. In response to the escalating situation, the Search and Rescue Force Headquarters at RAF Valley brought their Major Incident Response plan (MIRP) into play and the Crisis Management Group (CMG) was manned at 11:00pm and throughout the night to support the search and rescue operation. Additional flights on standby As the operation progressed it became obvious that this would be a protracted operation and additional search and rescue flights were put on standby. Aircraft from Boulmer, Leconfield, Chivenor, Lossiemouth and Prestwick were scrambled. The Royal Navy Sea King from Prestwick’s Gannet Flight being on alert to deploy to possible severe flooding forecast for the Dumfries and Galloway area. Gannet’s crew had already carried out flood related rescues throughout the day in Scotland. First on scene at Cockermouth, working purely on Night Vision Goggles (NVG), was the crew from ‘C’ Flight, 22 Squadron, based at RAF Valley who
Sea Kings also assisted in deploying a number of local rescue teams and in the search for survivors after two bridges in Workington collapsed. Refuelling arrangements Refuelling at Carlisle airport allowed the RAF Sea King crews to operate over an extended period, but with fuel running low in the airport’s fuel storage tanks. Fuel tankers had to be dispatched from RAF Leeming and the Tactical Supply Wing at Stafford to a second temporary helicopter landing site (HLS) at Penrith Rugby Club after the first HLS itself became flooded. This also saved transit time to Carlisle Airport for the Sea Kings, enabling them to be back on task quickly. Protective rain covers for the aircraft were despatched from RAF Valley by road, and the junior operations personnel who delivered them immediately set to work assisting at the temporary HLS.
lifted a total 27 people to safety and at one point, the Winchman had to punch his way through a window to rescue four females trapped on the first floor of a house.
The Winchman had to punch his way through a window to rescue four females trapped on the first floor of a house. At the busiest point, at 2:00am on 20 November, no less than three RAF Sea Kings from Valley, Boulmer and Leconfield were simultaneously hovering over the main street of Cockermouth in driving wind and rain. Later in the day, a second Sea King from Valley lifted a couple and their dogs to safety from Spark Bridge near Ulverston. The RAF
Interviews and updates As news media calls began flooding the ARCC, they were diverted to SAR Force media personnel at SARF HQ where live interviews and updates were passed to the information hungry media throughout the operation. Rescue 169 from Chivenor filmed the devastation at first light using the onboard Multi Sensor System (MSS) camera and the images were pooled to the national and international media through the BBC in Plymouth. The SAR Force Commander, Chief of Staff and key SAR personnel at Valley carried out numerous live radio and TV interviews at national and regional level. In summary, seven RAF helicopters were involved in the operation, spent 38 hours in the air, rescuing 67 people and three dogs. www.raf.mod.uk
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Author: Flight Sergeant Andy Carnall, RAF SARF HQ
34 | CUMBRIA FLOODS
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RSPCA’s flood response focuses on animal rescue When severe weather hit Cumbria in November 2009 and the potential for flash floods was realised, the RSPCA National Water Rescue Technicians (WRT) were mobilised from across England and Wales. RSPCA teams had been on standby for some time before the event due to the persistent rain in the area and the guidance from the Meteorological Office and Environment Agency. RSPCA Water Rescue Technicians were sent to the Cockermouth area, with the RSPCA local coordinators located in Kendal. The team in Cockermouth immediately began assisting the emergency services with the evacuation taking place, including some transportation of animals to an emergency rest centre.
The RSPCA’s main focus was flood response and all water rescue trained officers (over 80 nationally) were advised to consider themselves on standby. On Friday 20 November five RSPCA teams were deployed across the Cockermouth, Workington and Keswick areas. Flooding was significant and, where possible, the RSPCA assisted emergency services to rescue trapped people. The situation remained very changeable and it was an extremely dangerous working environment. One of the bigger animal rescues involved the RSPCA rescuing approximately 200 trapped sheep in Workington, south of Calva Bridge. Another involved a trapped person whose dog collapsed and needed to be helped. The statistics Incidents received: Animals involved:
44 250+ (domestic and livestock)
RSPCA operational front line officers deployed 10 Other staff : 15 (Press, National Control Centre, Regional management, Duty Operations Managers) There were many others including WRT officers on standby but not eventually deployed and RSPCA regional staff maintained business continuity.
Photo: Rigiflex
Photo: Rigiflex
There were numerous enquiries from evacuated people at rest centres who had had to leave their pets behind. A farmer contacted the RSPCA for assistance with six cattle and there were three incidents involving 30, 20 and 200 sheep respectively. Other rescues involved a total of eight cats, in separate incidents, and a dog. Additional teams were sent North, but were held overnight around Warrington as there were also potential flooding issues in Wales due to continuing bad weather. Emergency calls only The RSPCA was now on a national crisis response footing. Its National Control Centre was taking emergency calls only and asking callers to help as much as they could by taking animals to vets etc. The RSPCA’s main focus was flood response and all water rescue trained officers (over 80 nationally) were advised to consider themselves on standby. On Saturday 21 November WRTs staffed by North region officers were stood down for a rest and recovery period and to allow them to be available again when needed. Replacement staff, who were staying overnight in Warrington, travelled to Cumbria while available staff were split into four teams: three worked in Cockermouth, one in Workington. Chief Officer Inspectorate (COI) Tim Wass was on site at Cockermouth with water rescue teams.
Both the team and COI met Gordon Brown who discussed the RSPCA’s activities in the area and the PM commended the charity on its rescue efforts. SKY News and BBC News worked with RSPCA teams in Cockermouth. One team reunited three dogs with their relieved owners and they also reunited a couple in the Sheep and Wool rest centre with their two cats. By 4:00pm calls about the floods were reducing and most people and animal rescues were complete. By Sunday 22 November teams had dealt with around 50 incidents regarding animals in need of assistance since the Friday. Overnight and morning torrential rain didn’t escalate any issues in Cumbria, Wales or the South West and officers who were far from home were stood down so they could travel. North region rested officers were then called back on duty to travel to Cumbria, to be available first thing Monday morning. One WRT remained operational in Workington. Replacement teams made up from North region staff gathered at Penrith, and then moved on to Workington to be available first thing Monday morning. www.rspca.org.uk
Author: HQ Supt Tim Minty, RSPCA
Floods – multi agency training is essential Water rescue training is focused on dealing with incidents that have a limited geographical extent. It typically concentrates on locating, accessing and rescuing casualties who can easily be identified; it is a relatively well understood discipline that has an established framework for maximising the safety of those involved. Teams are well versed in the systems of work, such as downstream and upstream safety, that should ideally be in place in order to affect a rescue. Flooding, pushes these commonly accepted principles to the limits. In flood events, such as Cum-
bria 2009, small teams are often found working in flood waters with limited backup, less than ideal equipment, at the end of a long and unreliable communications chain. The scale of the event is such that multi agency working is essential and that can bring its own frustrations. Rescue teams are brought in from outside with little or no local knowledge, so even just manoeuvring around the area can be difficult. There are different systems of work between teams, meaning that it is more difficult to work effectively together. Some teams bring specialist skills or equipment, such as the fire and
rescue service mass decontamination or mountain rescue’s experience of working with helicopters, and all of these have to be put together to create an effective search and rescue response. Cumbria has once again demonstrated that flood search and rescue training needs to build on the water rescue skills, improve inter agency capability, be able to scale up to match the size of the events and support the local communities when they need it most and part of this solution is training together before the skills are really needed. www.outreachrescue.com
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COLLABORATION | 35
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Flood and water rescue needs? Look no further than Firebuy • • • • • •
Fully EU compliant framework Faster and easier contracting route Pre-agreed prices and discounts Pre-agreed Terms and Conditions Reduced negotiation time and tendering costs Contract management from Firebuy covering contract amendments/variations, administration and dispute resolution • Helping to meet the Government’s Operational Efficiency Programme objectives for public sector expenditure with collaborative procurement. Full details of these framework agreements including specifications and prices are available via the members’ area of the Firebuy website. www.firebuy.gov.uk
Firebuy, the Government professional buying organisation for fire, risk and safety items, has let a new framework agreement to cover flood and water rescue items. The aim of the procurement was to provide fire and rescue services, and Firebuy’s partners, with a framework agreement offering a full range of equipment, services and training to meet this important area of work. The framework is also available to other public sector organisations such as the other emergency services, the MoD and Maritime and Coastguard Agency, as well as registered charities like the RNLI.
The framework includes the following: Lot 1 – Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) This includes clothing, footwear and accessories, stowage and storage together with the service, maintenance, hygienic cleansing and training. Suppliers on this lot are: AssetCo, Collins Nets, Future Safety, Goliath Footwear, Lomo Industries, Northern Diver, Polar Bears, Total Worx and Trelleborg. Lot 2 – Water Rescue Craft Firebuy is currently undertaking the final part of the flood and water rescue framework agreement which includes powered and non-powered boats, engines, other craft, rafts and trailers together with training, service, maintenance and hygienic cleans-
ing. This part of the framework commenced at the end of February 2010. Lot 3 – Rescue Equipment and accessories This includes inter hose inflation kits, inflation devices, waterproof bags, hose protectors, harnesses and karabiners. The suppliers on this lot are: AssetCo, Collins Nets, Lomo Industries, Premier Hose Technologies and Total Worx. Lot 5 – Training Courses This lot will include training for flood and water rescue, including Water Awareness, Water Rescue Incident Commander and Water Rescue Boat Operator. Suppliers for this lot are: AS Training, Command UK – Technical Rescue, The Fire Service College and Rescue 3.
“We have found the Firebuy Frameworks can meet our needs very well on flood and water rescue equipment. We also like the peace of mind we get from Firebuy's procurement and contract management expertise. It makes my job as purchaser that much easier.”
Existing framework agreements In addition to the lots mentioned above, Firebuy already has in place framework agreements that offer some of the essential equipment required to deal with flood and water rescue. These include: life jackets – onshore and offshore life jackets, buoyancy aids and other flotation devices; hose – suction and delivery hose in a wide range of sizes; branches – a wide range of branches for water hose; portable pumps – portable pumps, high pressure pumps, submersible pumps and others including ejector and bilge pumps; portable lighting – a range of portable battery operated lighting equipment; High Volume Pumps – maintenance and management – under the New Dimension contract there is the maintenance and management of High Volume Pumps; and mud and ice packs – mud and ice packs are available including inflatable paths to provide safe access over ice and deep mud. The benefits of using Firebuy There are many benefits to using Firebuy’s framework agreements, including:
Gary Donald, HART Fire and Rescue Liaison Officer, Ambulance HART Team
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36 | WHO’S WHO?
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Putting the ‘shock’ factor into simulation Nearly a year after training specialist Amputees in Action Ltd was set up it had the fortune to launch into casualty simulations on a pilot course in York. Up to this point traumatically injured personnel were played by fully limbed people, with tags pinned to their clothing. The makeup, special effects, was equally amateurish but the whole effect was extremely successful. Using Amputees in Action, however, took the training to a whole new level. The concept of using the agency was to bring to the forum actors with amputations who could put the ‘shock’ factor into the simulation by, basically, wreaking havoc. The confusion caused was twofold – firstly, by using acting skills they passionately screamed, writhed around or lay unconscious until they were evacuated; and secondly, they really did have limbs missing. This was the start of a very successful avenue for the company and the amputees on the books. Not all amputees registered are interested in this type of work, preferring the TV or film industries. Those that do work as Trauma Casualty Amputees (TCAs) have developed professionally and personally, with many drawing on the work as their main source of income. Of all the disabled people able to work only 50 percent do, so being in a profession unique to their disability is extraordinary. Regular workshops Amputees in Action TCAs are fully aware of the roles they play and are prepared, through regular workshops, for the good and bad. They could be sitting in cold icy puddles dotted around fields (and it is always the biggest and smelliest one!) for hours, diving out of moving vehicles, being stripped to the flesh for critical medical checks, all while maintaining the character they are depicting. It has been commented by many an amputee that being a TCA is the best ‘stress therapy’ and they would not get a better way to release anger than sitting in a field and screaming for attention.
Of all the disabled people able to work only 50 percent do, so being in a profession unique to their disability is extraordinary. All the actors owe their lives to the care and attention given by people who have been trained either in first response first aid or in the medical profession and in their complex rehabilitation. They have first hand understanding of the urgency required in the treatment of major traumatic injuries and by playing such an integral part in the overall effective training gives them immeasurable satisfaction and personal pride to excel in this specialist role. Most pointedly they have all experienced life saving medical procedures whether they lost their limb(s) through bomb blast, road traffic accident, cancer, illness or sports injury. Over the years the company has striven to excel in the service provided. In March 2008 it ceased sub contracting the special effects and brought this area ‘in house’. The company now has a team of
special effects artists who have brought with them a wealth of knowledge and current techniques. Most importantly of all they have formed a solid relationship with the TCAs, to deliver an excellent service. They can produce any casualty effect, in any condition. The company now develops its own prosthetics with the primary objective being the comfort of the amputees uppermost in its design process, which is ongoing and part of company policy to continue to improve. Giving the amputees the best available tools to work with will enable them to perform better. Both areas now work as a team which ensures that its clients receive a premier service. Successful service What started out as a pilot course in York has evolved into a major and successful service, making Amputees in Action the market leader in supplying TCAs and special effects. The company supports tri service, public sector services and multi agency exercises from single units to mass casualty simulations for the Government all over the country. The company also supports private companies with resilience, contingency and disaster management training. All the hard work over the last four years was rewarded when Amputees in Action Director John Pickup won The Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneur 2009. This award has given the company the kudos and confidence to strive harder to maintain its premier position of market leader in
this area. As Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou said, “The £50,000 cheque ensures Amputees in Action have a great platform for growth.” The company will also benefit by having the support of Leonard Cheshire and mentors from the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation. www.amputeesinaction.co.uk
John Pickup, Director, pciks up The Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneur 2009 from Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou.
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BOC wins Scottish FDNY chooses Lion’s CBRN suit Ambulance Service contract BOC Healthcare has won a contract to provide compressed medical gases to the ambulance service across Scotland. BOC, a member of The Linde Group, is one of the largest suppliers of industrial, medical and special gases in the UK and Ireland. The contract involves the medical gases used by ambulances, Rapid Response Units and first responders, as well as helicopters operating from Inverness and Glasgow. This includes medical oxygen and BOC’s ENTONOX® which is used in pain relief. Ambulance services will also benefit from some of BOC’s latest medical gas delivery systems, including the new ultra lightweight one litre oxygen cylinder with integrated valve and regulator. The company’s extensive distribution network will ensure a rapid response for over 160 ambulance stations all over the country, including remote areas. The supply contract was awarded by NHS Scotland National Procurement after an extensive tendering process. www.boconline.co.uk
Lion seals Welsh deal Lion Apparel has been awarded the contract to supply structural fire fighting suits to all three of the Welsh fire and rescue services as part of a TotalCare managed service agreement. Approximately 8000 Pro-Tek Max Fire Suits designed to provide the highest standard of protection for firefighters and incorporating some unique new design innovations will be issued in April 2010. The Pro-Tek Max suit incorporates a PBI® Matrix 205g outer fabric, giving extremely high mechanical and thermal properties and a waterproof, breathable CROSSTECH® Fireblocker® moisture barrier. The garments also utilise a unique new proprietary lining system, developed by Lion, that uses a special wicking technology to remove moisture and heat from the body. The contract was awarded to Lion after an extensive evaluation and trial process that included garments from all of the main suppliers in the UK. www.lionapparel.co.uk
In brief . . . OpenView Group, a market leader among local authorities and emergency services, has recently acquired Garndene Communication Systems to expand its service offerings in the UK electronic security systems market. OpenView Group has grown rapidly both organically and by acquisition and has emergency services clients including the Metropolitan Police, Leeds NHS Trust and St James’s University Hospital Leeds. www.openviewgroup.com
Fire departments around the world are evaluating their operational readiness to respond to hazmat incidents. The Fire Department City of New York (FDNY), the largest fire department in the United States, has taken the lead in upgrading its response protocol to improve its ability to respond to chemical, biological and WMD incidents. The advancements will significantly improve safety and decrease the physical impact on FDNY’s first responders. As part of the upgrade to its chemical protective clothing programme, the FDNY has selected Lion Apparel’s MT94 CBRN protective ensemble to fit its mission specific needs and increase its response capabilities for technical rescue, patient rescue, decontamination and air monitoring.
The revamped programme provides FDNY’s hazmat response teams with a more functional alternative than wearing traditional Level A suits to respond to such incidents. Lion’s MT94 is a one piece ensemble designed to protect against some of the world’s deadliest chemical and biological threats. It combines rugged GORE® CHEMPAK® Ultra Barrier Fabric laminated to a tough Nomex® outer textile to offer lightweight and comfortable multi wear, multi threat protection. The MT94 is certified to NFPA 1994, Class 2 and NFPA 1992. Providing the highest level of protection in a Class 2 suit, the MT94 helps block out high levels of CBRN agents that may be encountered in the ‘hot zone’. www.lionapparel.com/cbrn.shtml
NEAS kits out control centre Custom Consoles has completed a major contract for the North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NEAS) in Newcastle Upon Tyne. A total of 46 control desks and matching storage furniture will form a key part of the infrastructure at a new auxiliary 24 hour emergency response centre. This latest order brings to 144 the total number of Custom Consoles desks at NEAS emergency response centres. The contract includes height adjustable worksurfaces giving operators the option of setting the desk to match their personal preference either at the
Dr Pamela Chrispin took up her post as Medical Director of the East of England Ambulance Service in January. Pamela has a background in anaesthesia and critical care and has been a consultant at the West Suffolk Hospital for the past 11 years, most recently serving as Deputy Medical Director. She is also medical lead for the Norfolk Suffolk Cambridgeshire Critical Care Network, and has been involved in regional planning for critical care transfers, trauma and pandemic preparation. Dr Chrispin flies regularly on the East Anglian Air Ambulance and is a volunteer prehospital care provider with the Suffolk Accident Rescue Service. www.eastamb.nhs.uk
Southern Area Urgent Care Services (SAUCS) has recently agreed a contract with Plain Healthcare for Odyssey eCover to support its service in dealing with the increased demand expected during the AH1N1 swine flu pandemic. The choice of Odyssey eCover was made of the whole Odyssey range of products, as it is intuitive to use and presented in plain English, so the organisation could be confident all staff would be comfortable in its use. SAUCS has also purchased a learning and development package which includes a telephone skills consultation workshop and professional issues workshop designed to assist in the training of its nurses to allow them to undertake telephone triage. www.plain.co.uk
Custom Consoles control desks and matching storage furniture at one of the NEAS 24 hour emergency response centres.
start of a shift or to minimise fatigue during a prolonged working session. www.customconsoles.co.uk
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The Environment Agency, a long standing client of Cosalt and its subsidiary company Crewsaver, is set to trial the new Crewfit 190N lifejacket. Practical demonstrations will take place in April 2010 before a number of jackets are sent out for field trails with Environment Agency staff. Compact, lightweight and extremely comfortable to wear, the new Crewfit 190N offers exceptional performance in the most demanding environments. www.cosalt.com
40 | CONTRACTS & PEOPLE
In brief . . . North Yorkshire Police Authority recently announced the appointment of Tim Madgwick as Assistant Chief Constable. For the past six months Tim has served as Acting ACC, prior to which he held the rank of Chief Superintendent both as Central Area Commander and in posts at Headquarters. Tim, who has been with North Yorkshire Police for 21 years, said, “The Police Authority have shown their confidence in me. I will seek in turn to improve the confidence that our communities have in North Yorkshire Police by continuing to work with colleagues who are committed to improving standards of customer satisfaction across every aspect of our service.” www.northyorkshire.police.uk
PBI has recently made some changes to the organisation of its marketing and sales team: Walter (Walt) Lehmann has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing – New Markets; Kim Henry has been promoted to Vice President, Sales and Marketing for North America Performance Fabrics; and Helmut Zepf has been promoted to Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Europe and Middle East. www.pbigold.com
In recent months Promove UK Ltd has received two major orders for its emergency evacuation sling from Kent Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) and Central Scotland FRS. The sling is designed for moving and handling an incapacitated individual in confined or outdoor spaces where a hoist cannot be used. The unique design of the Promove sling means it can be placed under an individual whether they are in a vehicle or stuck in a corner, cubicle or bath. It works whether the individual is seated, reclined or prone as the individual does not have to be rolled to get the sling under them. www.promove.uk.com
Triscan Systems, best known for its fuel monitoring and management information solutions, recently appointed Keven Emery as Key Account Director. The strategic appointment comes on the back of a major business win for the Lancashire based business – Veolia Transport. Having previously held the position of Sales Director within Triscan, Keven brings more than 23 years of industry and customer experience to his new post. www.triscansystems.com
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NHS Trust adopts NBC's Decontainer East Midlands
Andy Dunn, Emergency Planning and Business Continuity Manager, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust.
Since its launch in November 2009, the new NBC Decontainer has been adopted and installed across various UK NHS Trusts and Health Boards to successfully make removal of contamination faster, safer and more effective in today’s increasingly challenging world. With increasing political tension and associated potential threats, the static, semi permanent, always ready decontamination unit offers peace of mind that self presenters can be treated with an unrivalled immediacy and efficiency. The new technology was developed in partnership with NHS Scotland and has been installed in 16 Scottish Health Boards together with the flagship Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust. In reviewing how they managed emergency decontamination situations, the trusts decided they required a reliable solution that could be fully operational within five minutes with minimal staff and reduced manual han-
dling issues. All key functionalities, including water and power, needed to be immediately available, with any new solution needing to withstand high winds and extreme weather for the long term. The result was the Decontainer, a whole new concept in decontamination management. Built with superior, high grade materials, the unique unit offers extreme durability and a 10 year reliable life to ensure safety and investment protection. The high specification of the internal technical design means infection control issues are also reduced. Commenting on the development and role out of the NBC Decontainer Andy Dunn, Emergency Planning and Business Continuity Manager, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, said, “I think if you look at the risks when we first started looking at decontamination, we had an inflatable structure, a structure which allowed us to deal with a small number of people. What we found is, as the risks have increased we needed something more fit for purpose that was instantly available, that we could remove if necessary, that could be disposed of, but was much quicker to receive patients. So, as the threat has changed so have our requirements. “The Decontainer is definitely the next generation of decontamination provision. It is fit for purpose, it is there, it is accessible quickly and that is important to us.”
A new finance project, which has already saved taxpayers' more than £200,000, will streamline procedures within Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and help to ensure public funds are spent more efficiently. The Regional Finance and Procurement System, which is a joint initiative between Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire fire and rescue services, will provide a number of benefits, including financial savings. The project will also enable a higher level of e-government working – the use of information and communication technology to provide and improve government services, transactions and interactions with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government. Other benefits will include the improvement of the decision making process by providing accurate, up to date financial information and significantly enhancing financial governance and performance, by the use of enhanced automated and manual controls.
bilities to the public safety sector. Combining this functionality with the sophisticated electronic management capabilities of Carnation Designs’ genisys system provides unprecedented fingertip control to emergency vehicle operators.” Craig Hall, Sales Director at Carnation Designs, added, “This new venture will build on the strengths of both companies, bringing unrivalled functionality to the marketplace. We have extended our collaboration to include joint provision of services for the integrated systems, creating a single point of contact for purchasing, and providing technical support through a dedicated hotline. This strategic alliance ensures that Carnation Designs and Microbus are able to offer the most comprehensive solutions available for the public safety market today.”
Tendering process The initiative is managed under the umbrella of the East Midlands Regional Management Board (RMB), which is made up of representatives from the region's five fire and rescue services. After a competitive tendering process, Bristol based firm Agresso Limited has won the contract for the project and is now working with the Regional Project Team to design the system in detail. Chair of the Regional Management Board, Cllr Peter Roffey, said, “This is an excellent example of how public money can be saved if different organisations have a shared vision and then pull together to achieve those goals.” The three fire and rescue services are responsible for all of the capital costs of the project, although the RMB and the Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership have committed revenue funding to assist with the implementation of the system. And by working together, the three organisations have already saved £216,800 on the procurement cost of the Agresso software. The new system is expected to go live in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire in July 2010 with Derbyshire expected to follow suit in December 2010.
www.microbus.com
www.emrmb-fire.gov.uk
www.nbcservices.co.uk
New strategic alliance for emergency vehicle solutions Microbus has joined forces with Carnation Designs to offer the public safety market a one stop source for in vehicle mobile computing and auxiliary electronics control. Microbus’ rugged vehicle based PC technology is perfectly matched with the flexibility of Carnation Designs’ genisys electronic management system, creating a complete package to meet the advanced electronics requirements of the latest emergency service vehicles. This strategic partnership offers the first comprehensive solution for in vehicle data and electronics management, creating a powerful, integrated set up for total control of auxiliary systems. Richard Blake, Sales and Marketing Director at Microbus, said, “Our in vehicle computers are at the cutting edge of mobile data technology, offering powerful data management capa-
efficiency scheme already making big savings
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Soteria selected New CFO for Cleveland Fire Brigade for SAR–H programme The Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Department for Transport (DfT) have selected Soteria as the preferred bidder for the Search and Rescue – Helicopter (SAR-H) programme. SAR-H is a single harmonised search and rescue (SAR) helicopter service in the UK, which will replace the current SAR helicopter service with a bespoke capability. It will ensure that military aircrew will develop their SAR skills and experience that will be transferred back to the expeditionary forces.
CFO Ian Hayton at Cleveland Fire Brigade headquarters.
recent years, making the transition to Chief Fire Officer a challenging and familiar one. He said, “It is an honour and a privilege to be able to work with such a high quality team of elected members, senior managers, firefighters, service professionals and support staff. Equally, I am extremely fortunate that I have an extensive network of strong relationships and supportive partners. I am positive that together we will continue to deliver outstanding better outcomes for local people for many years to come.” www.clevelandfire.gov.uk
VT Group wins HA fleet management role
www.soteria.com
Chloride, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems and services, has announced that it has completed the acquisition of AES (Alternative Engineering Systems), a provider of generator service and supplier of generators in the Republic of Ireland. Based in Dublin, AES will immediately integrate into Chloride’s business, also in Dublin, further broadening the company’s service network and increasing its ability to provide service and support to all aspects of the critical power infrastructure. www.chloridepower.co.uk
Ian Hayton, born and raised on Teesside, stepped into the role of Chief Fire Officer (CFO) on 8 February with a promise to build upon his predecessor’s excellent work with an innovative, creative and proactive approach to community safety. The first challenge, he said, will be to deliver better outcomes for local people and to design fire brigade services to meet the community’s needs and demands. Ian joined Cleveland Fire Brigade in 1975 and has worked closely with retiring CFO John Doyle and the brigade’s senior management team in
The contract is a 25 year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Soteria will work in partnership with the MoD and DfT to replace the current service with initial service provision in 2012. The Soteria consortium consists of: CHC – The largest global supplier of civilian helicopter services and the current provider of the MCA Interim SAR Service; RBS – Proven MoD PFI expertise with an extensive record as a PFI equity investor; Thales UK – UK government PFI/PPP experience, significant training provider and a leading MoD and DfT contractor; and Sikorsky – S92 manufacturer and a world leader in the design and manufacture of military and commercial helicopters, with a long and distinguished pedigree in SAR. David Rae, Soteria Bid Director, says, “Soteria will work in partnership with the MoD and DfT, and other SAR and civil resilience stakeholders, to ensure that the UK’s history of providing a world leading SAR service is assured and enhanced through the introduction of modern technology in the form of the Sikorsky S92.”
In brief . . .
Support services company VT Group (VT) has extended its footprint in the incident response vehicle fleet management sector after being named preferred bidder by the Highways Agency to supply, manage and support its fleet of more than 200 patrol vehicles. VT will manage the procurement, full maintenance and support requirement for the specialist patrol, resilience and team manager vehicles, which are based at 40 locations throughout England and are critical to ensuring the operation of the country’s main arterial routes. The fleet of 4x4 vehicles will be managed from a central location in London and will involve VT utilising an accredited dealer network throughout the country to carry out repairs and maintenance of the Land Rover, Mitsubishi and Toyota vehicles. The work, starting in April 2010 expands on VT’s fleet management work for blue light customers who already include the Metropolitan Police, where VT maintains some 3750 vehicles, and the New Dimension fleet of emergency response vehicles operated by fire and rescue
One of the Highways Agency vehicles that will be managed by VT Group.
BOC Healthcare’s Oxylator™ pneumatically powered portable ventilators have been approved for use with NHS ambulance service trusts. The products are included within the North West Collaborative Commercial Agency (NWCCA) Framework Agreement. NWCCA is the purchasing agency for NHS trusts in England. The Oxylator portable ventilator gives immediate confirmation of oxygen delivery to the lungs – as well as alerting the operator to blockages in the airway. They are simple to clean and disinfect and require no conventional maintenance or calibration for the lifetime of the device, reducing product on costs. www.boconline.co.uk
South Western Ambulance Service’s Clinical Hub Training Supervisor Andy Inniss has been awarded the Healthcare ICT Champion of the Year award, recently announced by eHealth Insider. Andy won the award after being voted for by eHealth Insider and eHealth Insider Primary Care magazine readers. The accolade went to Andy for his work on eLearning packages that allow control to access training programmes around the clock. This ensures better flu pandemic preparedness and is an excellent use of ICT. His work has also been picked up by five other ambulance trusts around the country.
services throughout England and Wales. Under the agreement, VT will use a number of its own mobile maintenance units to respond to defects and running repairs, besides managing a series of suppliers for specialist repairs. With some 10 new vehicles a month being introduced into the fleet as existing vehicles are retired, VT will also be responsible for converting the vehicles for service by applying tailored livery and fitting equipment such as LCD signage units, emergency lights and storage cages.
www.swast.nhs.uk
www.vtplc.com
www.sisk.co.uk
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John Sisk & Son Ltd (Sisk), one of the largest construction groups in the UK and Ireland, recently won the contract from Warwickshire Police to renovate and refurbish Rugby’s Police Station. The £3.5m contract will be completed in March 2010 and will see the original 1960s style offices transformed into modern open plan, air conditioned office space fit for 21st century policing. The buildings will remain live and operational throughout the duration of the works.
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Sheltering from the horrors of Haiti The Haiti earthquake, described as the worst to hit Haiti in centuries, was centred 10 miles to the south west of the island’s capital, Port-au-Prince. The level of destruction caused by the earthquake was on an unprecedented scale, with the UN describing it as the worst disaster it had ever dealt with. The need in Haiti is greater than it is has ever been before and delivering emergency disaster relief to the thousands in need has proved to be one of the biggest challenges ShelterBox has ever faced. Idal who had given birth to her son Edwige two days earlier. In order to distribute aid most effectively, ShelterBox has been working closely with the French aid agency ACTED, the IOM (International Organisation for Migration), the French Red Cross, the Haitian government and local Rotarians. A 1000 tent urban camp has been set up, in conjunction with ACTED and the IOM, providing shelter for up to 10,000 people. Urban camps are of huge benefit to the people in Port au Prince as they do not have to move to locations outside of the city and can therefore continue with their daily lives.
The first ShelterBoxes arrived in Haiti five days after the earthquake struck and were immediately put to use as emergency field hospitals. ShelterBox tents were used to provide secure shelter for hundreds of patients recovering from amputations. Twelve of these tents were set up outside Bernard Mews Hospital in Port au Prince. Response Team member Mark Pearson, who helped set up the tents, said, “There was a little boy called Carlos. He’s four years old and had his right leg amputated. I was sitting there really shell shocked and I gave him a little colouring book and some crayons. He smiled – it was the first time he’d been given something since losing his leg.” Thanks to the Response Team’s work, Carlos and hundreds of others have been able to recover in a secure shelter.
Distribution difficult Delivering ShelterBoxes into Port au Prince has been an incredibly difficult operation. To coordinate the flow of aid into the country, ShelterBox set up operational hubs, manned by Response Team members in Miami, USA and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Virgin Atlantic flew 1500 ShelterBoxes to Miami and the ShelterBox Logistics Team operating out of Miami arranged delivery into Port au Prince. A second Logistics Team, working out of Santo Domingo, was responsible for transporting the 700 ShelterBoxes and 100 ShelterBox tents into Haiti which arrived in Santa Domingo on a chartered plane from Newquay Cornwall Airport. ShelterBox Head of Operations John Leach said, “Our forward logistics teams have been the unsung heroes of the whole operation. Without their efforts, our large shipments of aid would’ve taken much longer to reach the people of Haiti. This couldn’t have happened without the dedication of our warehouse and logistics team at HQ and without the unwavering commitment of our volunteers.”
Fundraising efforts ShelterBox Founder and CEO Tom Henderson added, “None of this would have been possible without the fantastic fundraising efforts from ShelterBox supporters around the world. The need is huge but the response is matching it. By the sheer grit and determination of our staff, volunteers and donors, we’ve been able to respond in record time, preparing more ShelterBoxes in two weeks than we’ve ever done before. We’re in this for the long haul and I know our supporters will keep on going, keep on fundraising and keep on helping us make a difference.” www.shelterbox.org
Public donations are vital to ShelterBox’s continuing work around the world. To make a donation please Tel: 0300 0300 500 or visit www.shelterbox.org to donate online. ShelterBox camps have been set up in and around Port au Prince. In Delmas, a suburb of Port au Prince, 100 tents were set up to provide emergency shelter for families with newborn babies and pregnant women. One of the recipients was Ulrique
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My first deployment – the largest search and rescue response to an earthquake incident in history Less than 48 hours after the earthquake hit Haiti, nine volunteers from the charity and Non Governmental Organisation Search and Rescue Assistance in Disasters (SARAID) were in Heathrow airport awaiting departure. SARAID provides trained search and rescue volunteers to any country in need of assistance, 365 days a year, for free. All the volunteers have regular jobs; mine is working for Surrey County Council as an Emergency Management Officer.
Haiti was my first deployment, I only become ‘operational’ in November 2009, after several years of training with SARAID, and what a baptism of fire it was… the largest search and rescue response to an earthquake incident in history.
We were more than happy to take these tips from locals, after all how better would SARAID find the right haystack to start looking for the needle? Getting there The first challenge was getting into Port au Prince, the Haitian capital. All commercial flights were cancelled into the capital, so the only other alternative was to fly via JFK in New York to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and then make our way over to Haiti. At Santo Domingo airport we realised the logistical issues that were ensuing as many other search and rescue teams were doing the same and arriving to find no information at hand to them. SARAID set up a Reception and Deployment Centre (RDC) at Santo Domingo airport to provide incoming teams with information
and guidance for onwards travel to Haiti, until the United Nations (UN) were able to take over this task to allow us to do our primary function of searching for survivors. Arriving at base camp We arrived at the search and rescue base camp in Port au Prince Airport on US Military Black Hawk helicopters flown by an all Peuto Rican aircrew from the National Guard. From the air the city looked like Glastonbury festival with all the tents at the large camps for the displaced people, and the base camp itself. It was a relief to arrive and exciting too – it was clear all SARAID members were keen to go into the field in the hope of finding survivors. First tasks – set up our Base of Operations (BoO), arrange transport and get a tasking from OSOCC, the On Site Operations Coordination Centre. Throughout the days that ensued undertaking search and rescue within collapsed schools and homes and reconnaissance around the capital, SARAID worked with many international search and rescue and dog teams, including RAPID UK Using a Vibraphone to listen for survivors on a block of flats. and teams from Spain, South incredibly grateful for all the rescue teams’ efforts, Africa, the US and Mexico, and also with Map in particular those families to which SARAID was Action and a Canadian medical team. We were able to locate their dead within the rubble for them supported by UN military security teams when then to be able to dig in the right area to extract entering what were considered ‘red zones’ within them. the capital. People on my return to UK have asked, ‘How was On many occasions locals approached us reportit?’ particularly as a first time deployment, and it’s ing that they had heard trapped people tapping a difficult question to answer. It was great to put from within collapsed buildings. SARAID took into practise the years of training in artificial earththese reports as genuine though on many occasions quake environments in the UK and to see it work it became apparent that they had not heard anyin the field, though some aspects you cannot train thing for several days and in fact were hopeful that or necessarily prepare for like the sights and smells. we would recover their dead loved ones. However, In short, it was fantastic to be able to help Haiti in we were more than happy to take these tips from any capacity. locals, after all how better would SARAID find the right haystack to start looking for the needle? www.saraid.co.uk 10 day deployment The deployment lasted 10 days and although SARAID did not find any survivors I consider it a successful mission. Every Haitian I spoke with was
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Author: Ana Beattie, SARAID team member and Emergency Planning Officer for Surrey County Council.
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UK ISAR respond to Haiti disaster Twenty five minutes after the earthquake struck Haiti on 12 January, the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) had assessed the likely impact and sent red alert messages to rescue organisations and relief agencies throughout the world, one of which was the United Kingdom International Search and Rescue (UK ISAR) team. Within minutes, the team’s coordinator, Group Manager Pete Crook, contacted the Department for International Development (DfID), the Government department that mobilise rescue and aid on behalf of the British Government, to appraise them of the situation. The conversation took place on route to the Major Incident Room (MIR) at Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service headquarters because one of the responsibilities of the Hampshire team was to mobilise the on call UK ISAR teams in the event of an incident. Within one hour of the earthquake striking Pete Crook had spoken to fellow rescuers in the United States and Iceland and ascertained that a large scale rescue operation was likely to be essential for the region. This information was passed to DFID who took the early decision to mobilise the UK team. Large scale response By this time Pete had been joined in the MIR by colleagues from the Hampshire Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team and mobilisation of UK ISAR commenced. UK ISAR is made up of 13 fire and rescue services who commit to provide a team of six rescuers to join with command and control specialists from West Midlands Fire Service, logistics specialists from West Sussex and Hampshire fire and rescue services, FRS dog handlers, doctors, operations commanders, a hazmat/safety expert and an overall team leader to form the UK team of approximately 65 people.
The team had been involved in the rescues of a two year old girl, a 55 year old male and a 40 year old female. Only half of the rescue teams are on call at any one time and due to the fact that Hampshire had mobilised to Indonesia in October they were off call for search and rescue but responsible for mobilising and coordinating the UK response. Teams from Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Lincolnshire, Kent, South, Mid and West Wales, West Midlands and West Sussex were all contacted by e-mail and telephone with a request for details of the personnel who would make up their team. This information included date and place of birth, passport numbers, nationality etc, all of which was required by DfID in order to arrange visas to the affected country. Simultaneously, contact was made with the doctors and the dog handlers in order to secure nominations for team members as well as the duty officer for the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser (CFRA), the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA) leads for UK ISAR and USAR and the
The Major Incident Room at HFRS – from L to R: Firefighter Tim Marsh, Station Manager Alec Martin, Contigency Planning Officer Martyn Long, Station Manager Alan Blatchford and Group Manager Pete Crook.
Fire and Rescue Service National Co-ordination Centre (FRSNCC) to inform them of the mobilisation. Self sufficient UK ISAR has been assessed and qualified by the United Nations as a ‘heavy rescue team’. As such the team is capable of being self sufficient once in a country, carrying with it sufficient food, water, accommodation and supplies to cover a seven to 10 day deployment. It must also be capable of carrying out rescue operations that include dog and technical search, heavy lifting, breaking and breaching through concrete, metal, stone and timber and shoring up unstable structures. These tasks all required a good deal of specialist equipment so an equipment cache weighing around 12 tonnes had to be gathered and packed prior to deployment. This task was taken on by West Sussex, who are responsible for the operational kit, and Hampshire, who provide the accommodation and welfare aspects of the equipment. Members of Hampshire’s USAR team reported to headquarters around midnight to commence equipment loading. Meanwhile, DfID was busy identifying an available aircraft of sufficient size to transport UK ISAR with its equipment along with an assessment and support team from its own department. On this occasion a Boeing 757 was available at Bournemouth airport with a crew on standby at Gatwick so a decision was taken to fly the plane up to the crew which made Gatwick Airport the point of departure. All teams were informed of this and advised to be at Horley Fire Station in West Sussex,
for 9:00am on 12 January ready for departure at noon the same day. Less than 12 hours after the earthquake struck the complete UK ISAR team had assembled at Horley and individual team members were going through medical checks to ensure their fitness for mobilisation and that their inoculations, essential for world travel, were up to date.
Mia, a two year old girl, sits with her relieved mum.
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Delayed departure Heavy snow delayed the team’s departure from Gatwick and they eventually left at 7:40pm, still well within 24 hours of the earthquake first being reported. The MIR at Hampshire was staffed 24 hours a day in order to relay back information from Portau-Prince Airport, where the team established its Base of Operation (BoO). Unlike some previous deployments where the mobile phone network has been reasonably reliable, in Haiti this was not the case. The team had to rely on satellite telephones in order to send back updates so it was extremely important that news coming out of Haiti was passed on to all interested parties; the home fire and rescue services, the media, the various organisations within the fire and rescue community, but most importantly the families of those who had been deployed. This was the task of the coordination centre and with a five hour time difference between the two countries this made round the clock coverage of the MIR very desirable. The flight was due to arrive in Haiti at night, but damage to the airport meant it was diverted the neighbouring Dominican Republic. Over the next 24 hours flights between the two countries ferried parts of the team, its equipment and personnel to Haiti but as soon as sufficient resources were on the ground the task of search and rescue got underway. West Midlands set up a command and control point at the BoO and provided updates to the MIR in Hampshire as and when information became available. Twice daily meetings were held between team leaders and the United Nations to update situation reports and to task the rescuers. Successful rescues There were a number of rescue teams within the area and UK ISAR worked alongside many international colleagues during the course of the deployment. Among the report highlights coming through to the coordination centre over the next couple of days was the news that the team had been involved in
the rescues of a two year old girl, a 55 year old male and a 40 year old female. Further deployments were made to the towns of Leogane and Petit Goave where the medical teams were able to assist the populations that had been cut off since the earthquake. On many occasions search and rescue operations wind down five or six days after an earthquake as the potential for finding further survivors diminishes. In Haiti survivors were still being pulled from the rubble well over a week later so rescue teams continued to comb the wreckage for as long as survivors continued to be found. Ultimately the incidences of survivor rescues reduced to a point where those teams that had been in country early were beginning to tire and run low on supplies. The decision was taken by Mike
Thomas, Chief Fire Officer of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service and the UK ISAR Team Leader in Haiti, to stand the team down and to return to the UK on 22 January, a full 10 days after the earthquake hit. Returning home The coordination centre then ensured that all FRSs were aware of departure, flight and arrival times and that they were in a position to repatriate their teams on return. Media interest throughout the deployment had been high and increased with the news that the team was returning. Both national and local news organisations were keen to talk to returning team members so a media plan was devised to ensure a smooth and organised arrival. National media were accommodated at the airport with representatives of the team leadership being joined by CFOA’s president, Hampshire’s CFO John Bonney, in a press conference and photo opportunity. Responsibility for dealing with local media interest was given to individual FRSs to control. Restocking for the future Now several weeks after the team’s return work continues to restock supplies and equipment and make the team ready and available for any future emergencies. The review of the Haiti deployment is ongoing to identify those processes that worked well and those that required to be changed or tweaked. Overall the UK ISAR team working on behalf of DfID can feel justly proud of what was achieved in Haiti and the team stands ready to send help the next time GDACS send out a red alert. www.hantsfire.gov.uk www.cfoa.org.uk
UK ISAR Base of Operations at the airport.
Author: Station Manager Alan Blatchford, a member of the Hampshire USAR and UK ISAR team
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Logistical stability key to Haiti response With the nightmare scenes of earthquake ravaged Haiti dominating the news, aid agencies across the world mobilised themselves to make a large scale effort to respond to one of the worst disasters in recent times. The earthquake which struck on 12 January measured seven on the Richter scale. The Haitian Government reports that between 217,000 and 230,000 people had been identified as dead, an estimated 300,000 were injured and an estimated one million are homeless. The British Red Cross has vast experience, and has learnt many lessons from previous disasters such as the Bam and Pakistan earthquakes and the 2004 tsunami. Haiti was unique, however, as the local capacity was massively overwhelmed. Even before the earthquake, basic services such as healthcare, safe water and sanitation to much of the population was scarce. Together with the rest of the humanitarian community, the charity’s initial response was to save lives and provide relief for survivors.
In total more than 500 Red Cross aid workers have been deployed to Haiti from around the world to help with the relief effort and are working alongside hundreds of Haitian Red Cross staff and volunteers who have been responding since the earthquake struck. Diary of events Emily Knox, a member of the British Red Cross logistics emergency response unit (ERU), took the call for Haiti a few days after the disaster struck. She writes a diary of her experiences in the field while facilitating delivery of relief aid to Haiti from Santo Domingo. 18 January 2010 Damage to the air and sea ports is causing huge logistical challenges in getting urgent supplies into the country. While the airport has now reopened it cannot cope with the high volume of planes arriving and many flights are being re-routed to Santo Domingo, in the neighbouring Dominican Republic. The ERU team is based in Santo Domingo and is now coordinating delivery of relief goods arriving from the Red Cross warehouse in Panama. Having arrived late last night, passing newly arrived Chinese sniffer rescue dogs at the airport, I was worried I might not wake up early enough today. However, the advantage of the time difference meant I was wide awake at 6:00am and ready to get on with things. I spent most of the day at the office of the Dominican Republic Red Cross who have been dealing with the logistics so far. Because of the
damage to the port at Port-Au-Prince a lot of cargo is being rerouted to Santo Domingo, then forwarded on by road over the border. The Dominican Republic Red Cross have been doing an incredible job dealing with all the shipments coming in, especially when some planes land with no prior warning or paperwork.
In total more than 500 Red Cross aid workers have been deployed to Haiti from around the world to help with the relief effort and are working alongside hundreds of Haitian Red Cross staff and volunteers who have been responding since the earthquake struck. In addition, they have volunteers in Haiti helping to distribute relief items as well as organising the giving of blood. This afternoon, as I passed the entrance to the Dominican Republic Red Cross
Emily Knox at work at Almacaribe warehouse.
Humanitarian aid As the airport in Port-au-Prince has been unable to receive the massive amounts of humanitarian aid being sent in, the relief response began with the organising of a logistics centre in neighbouring Dominican Republic. Here, the British Red Cross logistics team has set up operations where they are receiving aid and trucking it in to Haiti. This centre necessitated the deployment of up to 20 specialist emergency response units (ERUs) from around the world, including experts in water and sanitation, logistics, IT and telecommunication infrastructure, health facilities and medical aid. At the time of writing, 43 flights had arrived in Haiti or the Dominican Republic, bringing more than 380 tonnes of Red Cross aid. The goods that have landed in Santo Domingo are en route via road to Haiti. A British Red Cross psycho social support team was also sent to Port-au-Prince with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to provide practical help and emotional support to Britons affected by the earthquake.
Aid is loaded onto a plane, bound for Haiti.
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office, I saw large groups of Red Cross volunteers loading water destined for Haiti. Aside from sorting out our team finances, today I met various Red Cross colleagues from the National Society, the Spanish Red Cross and even the Benelux Red Cross (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg), and did my part to make sense of the ‘pipeline’ so that we know what planes and goods are coming in. The pipeline is basically a schedule giving all the details of the planes, arrival times, the cargo they are carrying, how much it weighs – everything we need to know to work out how to organise getting it trucked in to Haiti and distributed to those who so desperately need it. I also tried to speak to my Swiss Red Cross logistics ERU counterpart who is in Haiti but was unable to get through… Meanwhile, my colleague David spent his day at the airport ensuring that the final part of the four shipments of the Norwegian Red Cross field hospital (which fit into two 40ft containers!) was safely seen through customs and put on the road to Jimani for onward travel to Prince Au Port. Looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings… 19 January 2010 Today flew by. We spent time setting up the software that tracks stock and investigating the flow of goods from prior to our arrival. I was hoping to speak to my counterpart in the Swiss Red Cross Logistics ERU but communication between Haiti and Dominican Republic remains difficult. Sat phones work and sometimes mobiles, but we weren’t able to get through to each other. The Dominican Republic Red Cross volunteers have been working constantly since the earthquake struck carrying out first aid, moving dead bodies and distributing relief items. In addition, the Dominican Republic Red Cross runs a blood bank and they have sent 200 bags of blood to Haiti since the earthquake. Specialist staff and volunteers use the blood to help treat those injured by the ‘quake. I was very moved by what I saw today – people volunteering their time and putting themselves in what is a very difficult security situation in order to help others. That for me is the Red Cross in action. 21 January 2010 The team were looking distinctively bleary eyed this morning at breakfast. It’s been a stressful couple of days with the pressure of planes landing in a congested airport and challenges with storage in Haiti. Then there was the further tremor in Haiti, which I have to say I didn’t notice here but quite a few others did. Everyone is doing all they can to get one of the precious ‘red’ slots at Port-Au-Prince airport to land. If they don’t make it, they get diverted to us often with little or no notice. Recently, our airport has become congested and some planes have been diverted to Puerto Plata airport. All this makes my job of tracking goods more complicated and I spent a long time pouring over the schedule of flights and trying to match it to what David said had arrived at the airport.
International cargo transporter which carries the British Red Cross aid.
25 January 2010 I have been mainly creating stock reports, bugging people for paperwork and working on the budget. There is, of course, also the constant flow of calls and messages to deal with and demands for information. I have been intrigued by how many ways people try and convey the urgency of their e-mails. Red flag, red exclamation mark, subject ‘Top Priority’ , ‘Urgent’, ‘Important’ and my favourite ‘Top Urgent’.
29 January 2010 Moved office to the warehouse, which is great for me as I don’t get disturbed by the hustle and bustle of the operations centre. So, our team has added a few more countries to it: Kenny, from Scotland, who is managing one of our warehouses; and Gareth, from Wales, who is doing a recce of one of the seaports. We’ve also had the Logs Coordinator over from Haiti for the last few days. He said that the other emergency response units (ERUs) such as the hospital ERUs and water ERUs are reaching thousands with medical care and the production of millions of litres of clean water a day. It feels good to hear that the things we move are helping people. 4 February 2010 Well, I’ve managed to get a cold despite the hot weather! It has not deterred me from the constant flow of waybills out and waybills in that come my way though. My current bugbear is if goods do not have their tracking number attached… causes us lots of headaches! I feel sometimes as if I’m the grumpy finance woman glued to her computer in the warehouse office all day only to exit at full pace into the warehouse to ask for the answer to a question about buckets or tarpaulins. 8 February 2010 Spent most of today training new assistant Leslie on the LOGIC software that we use to track goods. I’m happy that she has already worked for a shipping company so she is familiar with logistics. Meanwhile, thousands of American Red Cross blankets and Kuwaiti Red Crescent tents have been arriving at the warehouse and the team in Haiti have asked us to send 10,000 mosquito nets. www.redcross.org.uk
Aid boxes are taped up, ready for their road trip to Haiti.
I’m in daily contact now with Haiti. Rosemary from the American Red Cross, who is working with the Swiss Red Cross logistics ERU, e-mails and calls me on the Sat phone to find out the latest on what has arrived in Santo Domingo. This helps them relay to the relief teams what is available and they then put in a requisition for stock to be moved.
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Keep up to date with Emily on line at http://blogs.redcross.org.uk Author: Emily Knox, Logistics Emergency Response Unit (ERU), British Red Cross
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Public order test for Notts Police On Saturday 5 December Nottinghamshire Police faced a day with the biggest potential for public order they had seen for some time. The second Battalion of the Mercian Regiment held their homecoming parade in Nottingham, the English Defence League (EDL) organised a demonstration which they claimed to be both in support of the soldiers and against radical Islam and, as has become a pattern when the EDL demonstrate, Unite Against Fascism (UAF) also came to Nottingham to demonstrate against the EDL. Add to this a local football derby and Nottingham had a volatile mix and a need for large numbers of staff, satisfied by mutual aid from: West Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire and West Midlands Police. Two were making a concerted, but unsuccessful attempt to pull down a lamp post. The mood of the crowd lightened as a police helmet started to be thrown around the group. This seemed to give the crowd something other than pushing the line to think about. Then, as quickly as it had started, the crowd began to move off downhill away from the UAF.
The potential for public order was addressed by plans to keep apart the elements of parade, EDL and UAF. Conditions were imposed on the two groups, giving them separate protest areas away from the parade and each other. The EDL were given an area outside Nottingham Castle, near to Robin Hood’s statue, which had been boarded up for the occasion. Their start time was to be 2:30pm. The UAF expressed an intention to demonstrate in the Old Market Square, but were asked to change this to another area near the castle. Day started peacefully I attended the demonstrations and the Moving Unite Against Fascism (UAF) from the Old Market Square. day started peacefully. The parents next groups were out of sight of each other, with an area to me on the tram had two small girls, waving between them enforced by PSU officers. I became union flags. Their proud mum was asking them kettled with the UAF group who seemed unsure of who would be first to spot Uncle Bob in his uniwhere the EDL were. They moved as a mass from form. As I arrived in the Old Market Square at one end of the street to the other. There was chanti10:00am fencing was already in place and spectang from within the UAF group, but not so orchestors were gathering for the parade. There was light, trated and somehow they seemed much less like a although heavier than usual, police presence. football crowd. Most behaved well, with only a few It soon became evident that UAF had not comof the younger members displaying inflammatory plied with the request to move their demonstration placards reading ‘Nazi scum’. away from the Square. Their group was steadily growing alongside the parade route, displaying a Change in atmosphere selection of UAF and Socialist Workers Party placAs I moved to join the press pack at the EDL meeting, I was aware of a much different atmosphere. A group of a dozen young men stood urinating against the castle wall, this despite the portaloos placed nearby by the council. The football crowd feel of the earlier group was multiplied many fold by the much larger group at the castle. The ‘Enger-land’ and ‘EDL’ chants of earlier in the day were now much louder. The organised speeches ended at around 3:30pm and the group began to disperse. The police wanted the group to move in one direction away from where the UAF were still kettled. The push by The English Defence League (EDL). This antagonised part of the group who wanted to go the opposite direction. A chant of ‘Why can’t we ards. As the parade reached the Square, a small group of EDL supporters came out of a pub direct- walk in our land?’ began. The group could be seen gathering in numbers towards the top of the hill. ly opposite the UAF group. This EDL group had The police reinforced their numbers as it was clear very much a football crowd feel to it. They soon the EDL were going to try and push towards the started reacting both to the UAF and the growing UAF. group of photographers. Their chants included As the EDL numbers grew, myself, the other ‘Eng-er-land… Eng-er-land’ and ‘E… E… EDL’, all press and the police evidence gatherers became the delivered with gestures towards the UAF. Police numbers were bolstered and supplemented focus of a chant. The group in unison were pointby horses. The two groups were kept apart until the ing at us chanting, ‘Shove your cameras up your a***’. The EDL then started to push against police EDL had moved to join their main group at the lines. The line held, but several individuals in the castle. The UAF were then moved away from the group were visibly aggressive towards the police. Square towards the castle. Although close, the two
Better communication Recommendations made in the recent HMIC report following London’s G20 protest, Adapting to protest, were evident on 5 December. HMIC recommended better communication – BBC local radio made clear police plans to move the UAF group from the Square to Friar Lane. The report supported kettling in specific circumstances, but recommended better warning to the group about to be kettled – I was in no doubt as to the police tactics on the day. HMIC also recommended better working with the press and greater recognition of the UK Press Card – I was asked on several occasions for my Press Card and the media were granted access to many areas cordoned off from the public.
Although close, the two groups were out of sight of each other, with an area between them enforced by PSU officers The event seemed successful from a policing point of view. Although the tax payers are faced with a large bill because of these two groups’ desires to counter demonstrate. A popular slogan on UAF placards was ‘Jobs and houses, not hatred and racism’. The irony struck me that had these two groups not staged their counter protests, there would be more money for jobs and houses. www.npia.police.uk
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Author: Sergeant Neil Hallam, Police National CBRN Centre
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56 | VEHICLES & VEHICLE EQUIPMENT
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Vehicle conversions require bespoke solutions When it comes to specifying equipment for an emergency services vehicle, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach. To get the right solution, requires a bespoke offering. The success of a vehicle conversion largely relies on the process itself. No two projects are alike so it’s not possible to make assumptions about what equipment is needed. However, all conversions need to consider ergonomics to ensure a practical layout, comply with legislation and offer a safe solution. first introduce new storage and racking solutions. But, while products need to be able to withstand an impact and be durable to provide a sound, long term investment, they also have to be lightweight to conform to weight restrictions, which vary between vehicles. This makes conversions a fine balancing act, which require solutions that are made from steel to ensure strength, robustness and reliability. In addition, safety considerations also need to be thought about when the vehicle is stationary, and this can lead to some unusual solutions. For example, bott recently converted two Scania trucks for a fire and rescue service, which are being used to carry equipment, water and foam to incidents involving hazardous materials or where environmental protection is needed. The company installed a ‘key out’ facility so the ignition key can be removed when the vehicle is stationary but power is still available for the lights and hydraulic tail lift, providing peace of mind that the vehicle cannot be driven off while in use.
A Command Unit.
One of the most common aspects of any vehicle conversion is to optimise the space available to create a safe and practical solution. Quite often a vehicle has to perform a number of different roles so to ensure successful functionality requires original thinking. Despite emergency services having common uses for a vehicle such as mobile command units, scene of crime vans, rapid response rescue vehicles and welfare units, each service uses different types of vehicle, therefore each layout and build requires a fresh approach.
An Operations Unit.
For example, bott was commissioned to covert a van for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service, which could be used as a multi purpose vehicle to support tasks including community safety, as well as operating as a standby fire investigation or forward command and control vehicle. For the solution, bott installed removable cabinets with specialist equipment, which can be swapped depending on the van’s intended role.
“It is clear there is not a standard solution for equipping emergency services transport.” When designing in vehicle equipment configurations, it’s important to also ensure the end result complies with rigorous safety requirements governed by legislation. This includes the Health and Safety Act, which places a Duty of Care on employers to manage the risks of employees while at work. Under this regulation vehicles used for business form part of the workplace and so practical steps need to be taken to ensure cargo is restrained while in transit. Guidance on restraining cargo is also provided in the Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) Code of Practice – safety on loads of vehicles. This legislation, coupled with the vehicle’s maximum permitted axle weight and Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), is all taken into account when the layout and specification is designed. Bott ensures the fleet manager is made aware of the finished tare weight, so there is no risk of overloading and can include sensors on each axle so the organisation can also monitor the vehicle’s loaded weight.
A SOCO vehicle.
It is clear there is not a standard solution for equipping emergency services transport. This is because the needs of an organisation can vary greatly depending on how and where the vehicles will be used and the types of vehicles being converted. Working with a specialist conversion company will ensure the end result is functional, safe and durable to meet the organisation's requirements and legal obligations. www.bottltd.co.uk
Balancing act While weight is a major consideration, products must also be ‘fit for purpose’ in terms of crash safety, which is a focus for manufacturers when they
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Author: Kevin Woodward, Managing Director of bott’s Specialist Vehicle Conversion Division
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58 | VEHICLES & VEHICLE EQUIPMENT
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Federal Signal warning systems: new UK distributor guarantees a superior service Anderco Safety has been selected as the distributor of the Federal Signal vehicle emergency warning range for the UK. Anderco has worked with Federal Signal in Ireland for 15 years and has considerable expertise in providing technical and commercial support to a broad range of customers. Anderco will now extend its cover to represent Federal throughout the UK and from its UK base will provide customers with a fully integrated technology and logistics solution and online access to a full range of support services. Anderco Safety, a leading supplier of safety equipment and associated services, has entered into a distribution agreement with Federal Signal for the sales, distribution and support of the Federal Signal vehicle emergency warning range throughout the UK and Ireland. Federal Signal Vama is the European unit of Federal Signal Corporation, a worldwide leader in the emergency warning systems market, with experience in providing solutions for emergency services for more than 100 years. The company has several facilities in many regions around the world, serving customers in approximately 100 countries. Federal Signal is the number one name in the emergency warning market, offering complete solutions for fire and rescue, ambulance and police vehicles. ISO 9001 registered since 1999, Federal Signal has earned a reputation for innovative engineering, skilled workmanship, quality and dependability. Considerable expertise Anderco has been the exclusive distributor of Federal Signal products in Ireland for 15 years and has considerable expertise in providing technical and commercial support to a wide range of customers including police, military, first responders, vehicle builders and fleet managers. Expansion of Anderco’s Irish sales and distribution centres, developing a UK base in Farnham and the ongoing development of the company’s sales, customer service, procurement and logisitics teams have permitted Anderco to subject its quality management system – accredited to ISO 9001 – to continual testing and refinement resulting in significant gains in performance and market share. Anderco is focused on enabling customers to gain maximum advantage from innovation and provides a pragmatic partnership approach including: a com-
prehensive range of market leading general and specialised PPE products; competitive pricing; an innovative supply partnership; tailored logisitics and customised service packages; unrivalled customer services; e-procurement facilities; 24/7 service; same day despatch and expert technical advice. Extensive range Anderco Safety currently sources and offers an extensive range of products, including emergency vehicle warning equipment, body armour, restraints, wireless and mobility communications equipment, forcible entry tools, breathing apparatus, firearm accessories, harnesses and rescue equipment, uniform and fire retardant clothing, footwear and general PPE, to the public and private security sectors. Alan Bruce, Anderco’s Managing Director, attributes the company’s success to its focus on meeting customer challenges with fully integrated product and service packages – through its own competencies and those of its partners. He says, “Buyers in these markets need suppliers with a focus on innovation, a strong technological foundation and a flexible and integrated approach to service provision. Our market knowledge is reinforced by our expertise in working with leading manufacturers, such as Federal Signal, to provide solutions that combine technical, consulting and training services.” Close working relationships Key to providing an expert service to these markets is, according to Alan Bruce, a high level of ongoing market research and allocation of resources to understanding the product applications, the environments in which they are used and building close working relationships with suppliers of a wide range of specialist products.
Alan Bruce, Anderco’s Managing Director.
Unrivalled levels of service guaranteed From its UK and Irish bases, Anderco guarantees unrivalled levels of service: • A dedicated, UK based account management team, led by Phil Frost. Phil has extensive experience of the emergency warning range, having spent 10 years as Federal Signal’s UK and Ireland Country Manager • A next day delivery service for stock products • A fully integrated technology and logistics solution with online, real time access to account management and commercial support services including product specifications, stock availability and order status information • Guaranteed rapid access to stocks of finished products and spares • Significantly reduced lead times on modified and made to order products. The product range Federal Signal Emergency Products Division, which includes the VAMA, Target Tech and Unitrol brands, is the leading supplier of audible and visual warning devices for vehicles. The division serves the police, fire and rescue, ambulance, tow and work vehicle markets with LED, strobe and halogen lightbars, grill, fend off and body lights, flashers, switch controls and high visibility beacons as well as audible warning devices such as sirens, speakers and back up alarms.
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ROC technology – reducing repair costs and increasing in service hours
Federal Signal’s latest generation lightbars contain Reliable Onboard Circuitry (ROC technology) which eliminates 85% of potential connection failure points in the lightbar, reducing repair costs and increasing the hours that emergency vehicles stay on the road. The most common failure points found in a typical lightbar occur between the connector to its light source and the lightbar’s power source. With older technology, each light head has at least two, sometimes four, connections per light head. ROC technology reduces the number of parts found in a typical lightbar by approximately 65%, thus ensuring greater reliability. Incorporated into ROC technology is an advanced microprocessor controller providing a variety of operating modes and a selection of preprogrammed flash patterns plus test patterns. Solaris LED reflector technology
The new ROC technology combined with Federal Signal’s Solaris wide angled reflector system offers the best emergency warning solution available. The Solaris LED reflector technology offers superior straight ahead and off axis performance. The Solaris reflector technology is not only built into all the latest Federal Signal LED lightbars but also into LED grill and fend off lights, LED perimeter lights, LED scene lights and LED motorcycle lights – making Federal Signal LED warning products the best on the market.
Individually configured ROC boards allow Legend to be reconfigured in a matter of minutes right on the vehicle – there’s no need to remove or rewire individual modules. Simply remove the top dome (by removing four screws), disconnect the ROC board and replace it with a new reconfigured ROC board. In addition to 360° lighting coverage, the Solaris LED reflector technology enables Legend to provide bright and intense off axis light output. Engineered to withstand the harsh conditions, severe vibrations and tough duty cycles that can shorten halogen and strobe performance. Solaris LED assemblies also reduce current draw to a minimum, thereby reducing demand on vehicle electrical systems. Legend’s advanced micro processor controller supplies a library of flash patterns plus adjustable alley and takedown lights. For increased officer, pedestrian and motorist safety, Legend also provides standard front and rear cut off, dimming (light output reduced to one half intensity) and intersection warning. The latest generation Legend also has full Can Bus control, reducing wiring and installation time. This, combined with the new AS320DIG digital siren and latest generation ICS2000 series Can Bus switch systems, will help to reduce total vehicle conversion times and costs. The Legend lightbar is available in 45in and 53in models. LED colours are available in red, blue, white, amber and green. Dome colours are offered in red, blue, clear and amber. Federal Signal Vista™ Lightbar
Federal Signal Prisoner Containment Systems Federal Signal’s prisoner containment systems are available for a wide range of popular vehicles. Each containment or cell system converts either half or the entire rear section of a vehicle into a prisoner containment cell. The seat and door panels are replaced with ABS mouldings and the floor is covered with ABS moulded panel. A steel framed Lexan screen is installed between the front and rear areas with an ABS kick panel below. The system uses vehicle manufacturer fixing points, thus eliminating the need to drill holes and damage the interior. Original seat belt fixings are retained. The containment system can be easily removed and the interior returned to its original configuration, avoiding possible penalties from lease companies. Federal Signal LM500 Light and Siren Unit
The new Federal Signal LM500 combination light and siren unit.
The new Federal Signal LM500 combination light and siren unit can be used to instantly covert any vehicle into an emergency vehicle. The unit is ideal for undercover vehicles, officer’s cars and hire cars plus many other applications. The LM500’s total power consumption is one amp for light only and four amps for light band siren. Power is supplied via a combination cigar lighter plug and switch. Roof adhesion is afforded by four powerful neodymium magnets and four suckers. The LM500 complies with EU directive 2004/104/CE plus R65 Class One.
Federal Signal Legend Lightbar
Federal Signal’s Vista multi level lightbar.
The stealthy, low profile Legend lightbar.
The stealthy, low profile Legend lightbar offers 360° coverage and superior off axis warning. It features both ROC and Solaris LED reflector design.
Federal Signal’s Vista multi level lightbar is available in strobe, halogen and LED options. Each lightbar is built upon a rugged extruded aluminium base and fully enclosed within a tough polycarbonate shell. The aerodynamic housing and aluminium base provide fuel efficiency and stability. The elliptical shape purposely offsets the lightheads to provide significantly greater off axis warning than traditional linear lightbars. The innovative offset arrangement of the upper level primary warning assemblies in the Vista lightbar is designed to maximise emergency warning to the critical 45° and 90° traffic intersection angles, where emergency vehicles and cross traffic are most vulnerable. Primary warning assemblies are available in Solaris LED, strobe or halogen. In addition, the Vista lightbars have multiple lighting levels, adding effective secondary warning and superior scene illumination. The latest generation of Vista offers Solaris LED modules in both upper and lower levels.
Anderco has a UK based account management team, led by Phil Frost.
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For further information on the Federal Signal product and services available from Anderco Safety, contact Phil Frost on Tel: 07971 160128 or e-mail: phil.frost@anderco.eu
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New Ford demonstrator uses Arnold Clark Microbus vehicle technology Coachbuilders to the rescue Ford Motor Company, in conjunction with Ford Special Vehicle Preparations (SVP), has developed a brand new demonstrator featuring the latest Microbus technology to provide a police specification mobile data and traffic enforcement ready vehicle.
Ford’s Mondeo Estate car has, at its heart, a Microbus M-PC2 vehicle computer with a high brightness touchscreen that is installed neatly into the dashboard, allowing officers easy access to a suite of applications. Among them are Microbus’s digital video recording systems that use two Microbus ANPR cameras: a forward facing Sabre 10 zoom camera mounted inside the cabin, and a rear facing Rapier 25 varifocal IR illuminated camera integrated into the roof mounted lightbar. The computer also drives a Genysis Carnation lightbar and siren interface, TRACKER stolen vehicle recovery application, and has access to PNC and other databases. The car will be available for demonstration throughout 2010 and will be appearing at various trade events including HOSDB, which will be held at Farnborough from 16–18 March.
The vehicle installation specialist centre, which provides a one stop shop for the blue light emergency services, equips some 3000 vehicles per year at its facilities in Colchester, Essex. It provides the electrical wiring looms and equipment installation for a variety of Ford vehicles including police traffic cars, mobile police stations, paramedic vehicles and dog units.
When faced with treacherous weather conditions, the importance of having a fully functioning and practical vehicle is vital to improving all those services involved in rescue and assistance. Arnold Clark Coachbuilders, a division of the Arnold Clark Group, recently helped to enhance the service the Killin Mountain Rescue Team provides by converting its Renault Master Panel Van to a fully functioning mountain rescue van. The conversion includes a fully equipped kitchen area, cooker, hot hand wash facilities and a storage and work area with removable and multi position seating for six personnel. The team also benefits from the multi position exterior lighting, including remote search lamp, and a telescopic canopy. Bill Rose, of Killin Mountain Rescue Team, commented, “Arnold Clark Coachbuilders converted our van into a fully functioning mountain rescue vehicle. It provides warmth and refreshment facilities for members returning back from the hills when in isolated areas with no available shelter. The job was completed efficiently and professionally and we were involved in the full process to ensure the vehicle would meet all of our demands.”
Smart idea Premier Hazard, a UK designer and manufacturer of lightbars and light systems, has recently equipped Smart Cars with Microbus in vehicle computers for Greater Manchester Police as part of their Casualty Reduction Partnership. The cars are deployed at the roadside to monitor traffic and reduce road traffic accidents. www.microbus.com
Ensuring vehicle visibility
3M, the diversified technology company, supplies its Diamond Grade DG3 Reflective Sheeting to emergency services across the UK, including Kent Police. Conrad Earll, Logistics Manager, Kent Police, comments, “The daytime conspicuity is fantastic and night time reflectivity is excellent. We are proud of our fleet in Kent and we want all our vehicles to be out there looking great and being as bright and visible as possible.” 3M Diamond Grade DG3 Reflective Sheeting
with assured seal is a high performance retroflective material that owes its exceptional brightness to the use of 10 percent full cube corners. This results in more light being returned than other prismatic products, which use truncated cube corners. The assured seal provides protection against dirt and water, meaning the performance of the reflective material can be guaranteed for up to seven years. The material also protects against peeling, ensuring the vehicle livery remains in good order, protecting the investment for longer. Kent Police DG3 livery is supplied through 3M converter Bluelite Graphics, which works with many of the UK’s emergency services. Steve Avery, Contracts Manager, Bluelite Graphics, comments, “This is a true partnership approach to optimising conspicuity for police vehicles in Kent. By working with 3M we are able to ensure high visibility for police vehicles whatever the prevailing conditions – and that helps officers perform their duties more effectively and also makes for a safer highways environment.”
Every aspect of the conversion helped to enhance the vehicle including the use of SPEEDLINER®, which was used to coat the interior of the van, suitable for all weather conditions, easy to clean and extremely sustainable. Steve Maitland, of Arnold Clark Coachbuilders, commented, “After discussions with Killin Mountain Rescue, we worked with them to offer practical solutions and kept the team involved in the full process. We installed individual seats to provide more flexibility, which are also easier to move in and out if bulkier equipment needs to be stored in the van. LED lights were fitted to make the van brighter, allowing maps to be read easily. Our professional service ensures all individual and business requirements are met.” Arnold Clark Coachbuilders, based in East Kilbride, near Glasgow, provides an extensive range of products and services.
www.3M.co.uk/traffic
www.arnoldclark.com/coachbuilders
Arnold Clark Coachbuilders converted the Killin Mountain Rescue Team’s Renault Master Panel Van into a fully functioning mountain rescue van.
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Audi makes an exhibition of itself Audi pulled out all the stops at last September’s National Association of Police Fleet Managers (NAPFM) Show, taking one of a largest stands at the Cheltenham event. And full marks to Audi – if it wanted to make blue light managers sit up and take notice it was definitely ‘mission accomplished’. So, what more can we expect from Audi in 2010? Audi. The very mention of the name sums up a positive image of a premium brand company with a premier range of cars. Its success in the UK marketplace over the past few years has been astonishing but understandable – with its A3, A4, A5, A6 and new Q5 and Q7 the German company has worked hard in developing a dazzling array of automotive talent. But can this success in the retail and fleet market be replicated in the 999 market, which can be a very hard nut to crack? Although not stating from a clean sheet of paper, my memories of Audi police cars are limited to the 90 range from the late eighties – Hampshire ran one on as a motorway car – and SOCA’s purchase of A6 and A8 models for covert roles. Its S3 hot hatches also made their mark with the Greater Manchester force a few years ago in its high profile stolen vehicle squad. Moving up a gear Spool forward a few years and from autumn 2009, Audi moved its 999 marketing up a few gears. With Mercedes Benz withdrawing from this lucrative market (back in 2007 its UK retail team decided not to continue subsidising its 999 car prices) it was only a matter of time before Audi decided to go on the offensive. So, at the 2009 NAPFM event, fleet managers were given a vision of the future as Audi exhibited on its biggest stand to date.
“Audi’s main focus at the moment is promoting both the A4 and A6 as road policing cars.” Lucy Aldous, from Audi’s Specialist Sales Department commented, “We have exhibited at the NAPFM in the past, but increased our presence at the last event to reflect more significant activity in the emergency services market.” On display were the latest Audi A4 3.0 TDI Quattro, an A6 Avant 3.0 TDI Quattro and a Q7 3.0 TDI Quattro - all of which are regarded as especially suitable for 999 roles. “Initial feedback was all positive, with the cars extremely well received,” added Lucy Aldous. “We are determined to do full justice to the world renowned design and engineering that Audi stands for. “We have a number of USPs which have helped establish the marque so highly in the UK. These include our advanced construction technologies with the emphasis on lightweight aluminium and the celebrated Quattro four wheel drive system, both of which define Audi.” And following the debut of two electric sports cars at the recent Frankfurt and Detroit motor shows, Audi is also in the vanguard of alternative propul-
sion methods, reenforcing its famed Vorsprung durch Technik (advancement through technology) philosophy. Advancement through technology Back to the present though, and a number of fleets are already either running or trialling Audi cars. These include Cambridgeshire, Sussex and North Yorkshire: the former is now running the Q7 3.0TDI, North Yorkshire has replaced Subarus with A4 diesel Quattro Avants on its road policing fleet where their economy and driveability found favour with both officers and the fleet management and Sussex has also opted for the same cars in a similar role.
Audi Q7 3.0 TDI Quattro
Lucy Aldous manages all blue light sales which falls within Audi’s Specialist Sales Team. Audi is now making its mark with 999 fleet managers in ‘blue light’ circles. Given Audi’s name is a word play on ‘listen’, she is determined to live up to that, and ensure that specific products are made avail-
able on both long and short term loan. “We have a dedicated fleet of both marked and unmarked vehicles and these are normally made available for a week at a time,” Lucy Aldous explained. “This can be extended from time to time given the fact that fleet managers understandably want as many officers as possible to try the cars in realistic situations.” Audi believes its current range of cars stands comparisons with the best of the competition – and with the likes of Lexus now touting the ISF 250, BMW ready in the wings with its new 5 range and refreshed 3 series and a resurgent Jaguar with the new XF diesel which is doing the rounds with fleet managers nationwide, it’s even tougher on the streets. Audi’s main focus at the moment is promoting both the A4 and A6 as road policing cars, with the Q7 touted as a good replacement for models from BMW, Lexus and Range Rover. World leading technology Both the A4 and A6 are incredibly reassuring cars to drive thanks to the world leading Quattro technology. Other strong selling points are low depreciation and excellent resale values plus its revered diesel engine technology – Audi diesel engines are noted for their power outputs and are as green as they come, with very low CO2 figures for their class. It all looks very positive indeed for the UK arm of Audi. The last few years have seen an explosion of interest in their range following the introduction of models like the TTRS and RS8 5.2FSI while its on the cusp of two other significant announcements – its A1 compact hatchback, set to take on the Mini, and the new Q3, opening more doors in the compact SUV market. www.audi.co.uk
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Author: Roger Blaxall, motoring correspondent
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In brief . . . Local government authorities are increasingly turning to location intelligence solutions for emergency contingency planning, public health initiatives and compliance directives, according to Pitney Bowes Business Insight (PBBI). These were the conclusions of more than 70 delegates from local government authorities attending the meeting of the independent MapInfo® User Group UK & Ireland (MUGUKI), which gathered in Bristol recently. Guest speakers presented real world insight, with presentations on swine flu mapping from Avon IM&T Consortium and flood risk management from Mouchel, among others. www.pbinsight.com
For the last 12 months IMServ has been working with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to implement a roll out of smart meters to remotely and accurately capture energy data from over 500 of its sites across Britain. Once complete the agency will benefit from far greater visibility and control over its energy costs, helping it to better manage budgets. The data will also prove invaluable in negotiating more competitive quotes from energy suppliers in the future. www.IMServ.com
Health & Social Care in Northern Ireland (HSCNI) has reported significant cost savings through moving to CRYPTOCard for protection against unauthorised network access. With its affordable, high security solutions, CRYPTOCard became the new provider of two factor authentication (2FA) hardware tokens to HSCNI enabling its six trusts to benefit from secure authentication for remote access via the internet and PSTN. Since the switch, HSCNI has expanded the use of CRYPTO-Shield from remote and third party access to web based applications, such as hospital waiting lists and applications that track and monitor trends in certain illnesses. www.CRYPTOCard.com
Digital mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) software developer Cadcorp has announced the release of a new application for GIS users in the fire and rescue service sector. The Cadcorp Workload Modeller extends the range of applications available to fire and rescue services that are based on the Cadcorp SIS – Spatial Information System product suite and has already been deployed at a number of UK fire and rescue services. www.cadcorp.com
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Savings and security for Cambridge Constabulary Recent government requirements, to improve confidentiality and security of data transfer by mid 2010, have resulted in a rise in the necessary encryption levels for information shared with and between police forces. The Government’s Communications Electronics Security Group (CESG) standards demand that specific encryption levels of all internal police force networks adhere to the Government Protective Marking Scheme (GPMS) caveat of RESTRICTED or higher; Impact Level 3 or above. In the light of this, Cambridgeshire Constabulary took the opportunity to review its entire network. With over 70 sites across the region, the service recognised that a transition programme would be necessary if they were to meet the required classification levels. Led by Tracey Hipperson, Director of ICT, the constabulary commissioned CNS and started with an audit of the existing infrastructure. This process led to the creation of a new CONFIDENTIAL network which will also meet the strategic requirements of the constabulary for the next 10 years. The new requirements demanded that a certain standard be met; networks would have to be accredited as both RESTRICTED and CONFIDENTIAL. For many police forces the concern is that meeting the standard will involve replacing or outsourcing their entire networks. At CNS the aim was to meet the encryption requirements, without having to start from scratch with a completely new network and the accompanying high costs. It was also important to work with the various bodies involved to create a workable and compliant network blueprint
Tracey Hipperson said, “Our whole system was in need of a refresh so we called in CNS to start with a network audit; this resulted in significant savings on our circuitry alone, through converting a piecemeal approach to one single and effective agreement. Our in house team then worked with CNS to identify the issues within the network and we decided upon a complete revamp which would ensure the Cambridgeshire network was up to the challenges of 21st century policing.” CNS and the constabulary’s own internal police force IT teams designed a solution which is also being considered by other forces nationwide. Using a combination of new Cisco software and upgrading existing technology, CNS was able to deploy FIPS encryption to manage risk, without the need for additional and costly architecture. Paul Rose, Director of Strategic Development at CNS, explains, “We like a straightforward solution to a problem at CNS. It is apparent to us that CESG guidelines can be followed through judicious use of firewalls and existing encryption software, such as that provided by Cisco’s ASA range. It’s about adhering to best practice and using levels of encryption that are already part of existing packages.” For Cambridgeshire Constabulary it was reassuring to be able to use tried and tested technology to improve the network. Not only was this a budget friendly approach, but it also meant the integration was less problematic and time consuming. Ian Bell, Head of Service Delivery at Cambridgeshire Constabulary, explains, “We were very pleased to be able to use existing Cisco software for this project. Their Proac-
Tracey Hipperson, Director of ICT, Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
tive Confidential Architecture gave us the confidence to deploy applications using Cisco Commercial off the shelf products.” This project has enabled Cambridgeshire Constabulary to meet the CONFIDENTIAL and RESTRICTED networks standards. Tracey Hipperson says, “We wanted to revamp our network, but through sensible project management we’ve actually managed to meet regulatory requirements and the strategic needs of the force for the next 10 years.” The experience of Cambridgeshire Constabulary is one that is likely to be replicated across the country. There is concern that the new guidelines from CESG will be costly and time consuming at a time when police forces want to focus energy and resourcing on core police work. By leading the way, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and CNS have proved that a simple, intelligent use of existing technology can resolve the issue efficiently. www.convnet.co.uk
Symphony of address management solutions Building on its vast experience of working within the FireControl project, in addition to its work with the British Transport Police (BTP) and more recently with Kent Fire and Rescue Service, gazetteer specialist Aligned Assets has created three new address management solutions, designed specifically for use by the emergency services. Collectively known as Symphony Bluelight, there are three distinct options available, each addressing the varying needs of the emergency ser-
vices: Symphony Bluelight Enterprise is the complete corporate gazetteer system, which will support frontline response, while all the while aiding in cost cutting and efficiency gains; Sym-
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phony Bluelight Professional is an industry leading BS7666 compliant gazetteer management system used in both local government and the emergency services and backed up by over 12 years of address management and GIS expertise; and Symphony Bluelight Search is a flexible, web enabled search engine that allows the user to search their address database (NLPG, ADDRESS-POINT®, OS MasterMap® Address Layer 2) and return results in sub second time. www.aligned-assets.co.uk/bluelight
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Satellite broadband – the key to resilient communications Satellite broadband continues to be the only reliable and resilient way to maintain communications in locations where traditional GSM and terrestrial networks are unavailable due to geographical or coverage constraints, network overload or even failure. This technology is now routinely fitted on the new generation of mobile incident command units that are being specified by the UK’s emergency services as it enables a wide range of voice, data and video applications to be run to create and share a common operating picture. For the UK’s fire and rescue services, these new ICUs provide crew commanders and watch managers with the tools they need to achieve higher levels of situational awareness and reduce risk. This enhances their ability to make critical decisions in rapidly changing dynamic situations and deploy crews in the safest and most effective way. The high level of information managed by these vehicles also enhances the audit process, particularly for incidents where more than five pumps have been deployed. They enable tactical logs to be rapidly audited with recordings of all voice, data and video communications, both externally on the incident ground and inside the ICU. This significantly reduces the time needed to analyse all essential data prior to carrying out structured debriefings. As well as enhancing the learning process, this will help support decisions taken by incident commanders and make a major contribution to improving incident response and management. West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service One of the latest ICUs to be ordered is West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s new command unit that has been designed to help the brigade meet its statutory duty under the Civil Contingencies Act to maintain operational functionality and interoperability with other responders at all times. Based on a Volvo 12t chassis, it has a roof mounted transportable satellite solution that can be operational within four minutes of parking the vehicle. This provides a resilient stand alone broadband connection into the communications suite at the front of the vehicle where operational personnel have access to secure telephony, internet and e-mail facilities.
The ICU also provides a multi agency briefing area with high impact safety seating and three 42in touchscreen displays that run specialised command support and emergency planning applications as well as being used for video conferencing and the viewing of real time video or television news channels. An additional 42in touchscreen display has been mounted externally within a separate compartment enabling larger scale briefings to be conducted. “This new command unit was developed in partnership with Excelerate Technology’s experienced technical experts who provided important advice
One of the latest ICUs to be ordered is West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s new command unit.
on the technologies that would deliver the greatest operational benefits,” stated Nick Smith, Group Manager at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service. “It will enable us to build a full operational picture that will empower commanders to make faster, more effective decisions and enhance the management of major incidents throughout West Yorkshire.”
“Our expertise and operational experience have ensured that the completed ICU meets all the brigade’s operational requirements and has the resilience to deliver the highest level of service for many years to come.” The ICU is also equipped with RapidNet, a Private Mobile Network system provided by Excelerate Technology to enable a GSM network to be generated at the scene of an incident to deliver full telecoms capabilities irrespective of the presence or capability of any incumbent national cellular network. It also
provides full recording of all voice communications. This award winning solution will enable the brigade to avoid the communications problems experienced during the 7/7 incident as highlighted in the London Assembly Committee’s report. Four rapid deploy, battery powered COFDM cameras, two of which are dual thermal for day/night operation, have also been installed to transmit live video into the ICU for viewing by silver command staff operating at the scene of an incident. The secure satellite links also enable live video to be streamed to a video server for online access in real time by authorised personnel at HQ and other locations. In addition, two body worn camera systems will be carried on the vehicle to deliver high quality, interference free images regardless of line of sight using COFDM Telemetry. These systems enable high quality images to be received from personnel operating inside buildings or tunnels where traditional transmission technologies will not work. According to David Savage, Founder and CEO of Excelerate Technology, “We worked closely in partnership with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to develop an ICU that incorporates the latest advanced communications technologies that will provide higher levels of information to help commanders make faster and better decisions. Our expertise and operational experience have ensured that the completed ICU meets all the brigade’s operational requirements and has the resilience to deliver the highest level of service for many years to come.”
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West Yorkshire’s ICU also provides a multi agency briefing area with high impact safety seating and three 42in touchscreen displays.
Cost effective airtime The use of satellite broadband is now firmly established despite the fact that it has mistakenly been perceived as being a high cost option and therefore not suitable for the tight budgets being operated by emergency services. While this may once have been the case, the reality is that these days, once the hardware has been installed, satellite broadband is now one of the most cost effective options. Excelerate can tailor the service provided to achieve the perfect balance between budget, user requirements and any SLAs.
Gwent Police But it is not just the fire and rescue services that can achieve impressive operational benefits from deploying these ICUs. Gwent Police recently unveiled what is almost certainly the most advanced mobile Incident Command Unit (ICU) to be ordered by the UK’s police service to date. Developed by Excelerate Technology in partnership with a team from Gwent Police’s Emergency Planning Department, it provides a tactical silver command solution that ensures preparedness for all civil contingencies throughout south east Wales.
The vehicle will also be deployed at large scale public events such as the forthcoming Ryder Cup and the Ebbw Vale Eisteddfod. “We worked hand in hand with Excelerate Technology to develop a bespoke solution that has met all our tactical, strategic and technological requirements within available budgets,” commented Simon Leonard of Gwent Police’s Emergency Planning Department. “We are extremely proud of our new mobile ICU which will enable us to better serve our local community and improve public confidence in our work.” In one of its first deployments, the ICU played a pivotal role during Operation Utah, a large scale multi force operation in December 2009 that targeted travelling criminals involving over 150 police officers from six forces and representatives from the DVLA, Department for Work and Pensions, VOSA, HM Revenue and Customs, Her Majesty’s Court Service and the Environment Agency. The ICU provided essential communications throughout the operation which resulted in 32 vehicles being seized and 13 people arrested. Founded in 2001, Excelerate Technology has become the leading supplier of voice, data and video solutions to the emergency services using satellite and wireless based technologies as a direct result of its extensive operational expertise and proactive approach to working in partnership with clients on every project. The company also maintains close working relationships with leading specialist coach builders which have been key partners in delivering a wide range of mobile incident command units and rapid response vehicles that are now in daily use by police, fire and ambulance services across the UK. Excelerate Technology Ltd Willow House, Pascal Close St Mellons, Cardiff CF3 0LW Tel: 0845 658 5747; Fax: 08700 516792 E-mail: nicolas@excelerate.info
Gwent Police recently unveiled its mobile Incident Command Unit (ICU).
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Latest technology on show at BAPCO 2010
Wireless technology at forefront of fire fighting
Over 100 exhibitors will be showcasing their products and services at the BAPCO 2010 Exhibition, which runs from 20–22 April 2010 at the Business Design Centre, Islington, London. There will be an array of new launches and technology for public safety officers and civil contingency professionals to see, compare and receive expert advice on, direct from the suppliers.
Fire and rescue crews in Northern Ireland are using a new wireless communications technology from Verint Systems to fight fires more effectively and with less risk to their officers by relaying live video of the event back to a central command and control room. Working alongside Verint partner, 802 Global, Verint’s Nextiva® technology is at the heart of a new Rapid Deploy Mesh Network (RDMN), a communications solution for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) that can be quickly and easily implemented in the field within around five minutes of the vehicle becoming operational. Images from rugged pan, tilt, zoom (PTZ) cameras mounted onto a command vehicle, tripod units, or aerial ladder platforms (ALPs) can be viewed locally or transmitted securely to headquarters or other ‘Gold’ locations where senior commanders can provide strategic support to the commander on the incident ground. Use of this technology on ALPs and command support units (CSUs) has proved especially effective in that they can relay both thermal and optical images, looking down on a scene to identify ‘hot spots’ or hazards such as building integrity failure, gas cylinders in need of priority attention, or to identify people who may still be trapped inside a burning building. The second of four mobile CSUs are now operational with this enhanced technology. Robin Bigger, an Assistant Group Commander with NIFRS who
Visitors to BAPCO 2010 can stay up to date on the products, systems and services that will be shaping their role in the future. Highlights from exhibitors include: Cadcorp will be officially launching its Workload Modeller for the UK fire and rescue services market; Microbus, on stand B31, will be focusing on its new strategic alliance with Carnation Designs to offer the public safety market a one stop shop source for in vehicle auxiliary electronics control; while new exhibitor Abiom Communications Systems will be displaying the latest in the Phonak range, including in the ear hearing protection products and specialist covert wireless earpieces. For more information and to register for a free visitor ticket go to www.bapco.co.uk. Conference highlights ‘Towards a New Dawn’ is the theme of the BAPCO 2010 Conference, giving delegates an insight into what the future holds for improving and delivering public safety civil contingency services through the effective use of integrated communication and information management technologies. Due to popular demand, the conference will once again feature a dual stream format offering a wide range of discussion under two key streams, all with a highly educational focus. In addition, to support individual personal development programmes, all conference delegates receive a Certificate of Attendance. Conference programme highlights include: Julie Stinson, Project Manager, 5 Star Team, will present on the 2010 Winter Olympics Communications Planning in Washington State; Paul Holman, Operations Manager – Specialist Emergency response Department, Ambulance Victoria, will give an insight into Australia’s summer of 2009 entitled ‘Visited by Hell and all its Fury’; and Jeanette Innes, Assistant Director, Programme Manager for Telecommunications Resilience from the Civil Contingencies Secretariat Cabinet Office, will discuss in detail the relationship between The Cabinet Office and the Civil Contingencies Act. Public safety communication officers and information technology specialists can see the full conference programme online. www.bapco.co.uk
NIFRS training exercise with tripod mounted Rapid Deploy Mesh Network.
leads the Command Support Unit project, said, “The service are continuing to exploit this exciting technology which is enabling an enhanced level of situational awareness for incident commanders who are supported via command units in such a way as to maximise efficient use of resources at the incident and overview the safety of firefighters being deployed. “The equipment is being used alongside our existing investment in equipment onboard command support units and aerial ladder platforms and by using satellite communications we are able to broadcast incident ground information to our headquarters command suite not only from towns and cities but from the remotest parts of the province.” www.verint.com
Scottish mountain rescue comms maintenance deal The Mountain Rescue Council of Scotland (MRCofS) has awarded a contract to Radio Telecom Services Ltd (RTS), headquartered in Livingston, West Lothian, to perform all maintenance and upgrades required on both terminals and infrastructure for the next five years. The project will be ongoing and began in December 2009. RTS, a radio communications support company with extensive experience supplying, installing and maintaining for the emergency services and other markets, will carry out all necessary works related to the contract. The contract will focus on providing a comprehensive support service of a wide range of equipment and locations including portables, mobiles, base stations and vehicles and their interoperability. The contract will also include any reconfiguration due to policy and legislation changes and RTS will partner MRCofS in an advisory capacity regarding ongoing development support to the next generation of mountain rescue communications needs and requirements. Robust and resilient In 2009, the Mountain Rescue Committee conducted a rigorous analysis of their requirements to maintain a reliable, stand alone VHF radio system,
robust enough to operate in the most challenging conditions. Based on current experience, but cognisant of the changing world of communications, the analysis indicated an extension to the life of the existing equipment which means that all radios require to be examined and reprogrammed while ensuring every team’s capability is not compromised during the process. James Coles, the Radio Officer for the MRCofS, explained, “National changes to the UK land search and rescue band plan required a reprogramme of all radios in use across Scotland. The MRCofS needed a partner to assist with this and look after the radio fleet on an ongoing basis. Value for money, capability and experience were the key in the evaluation of partners and The MRCofS looks forward to working with RTS to ensure that mountain rescue communications are maintained into the future”. www.radio-telecom.com
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Have your say on interoperability The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is asking Category 1 and 2 Responders, and the organisations that support them, for their help with a new research paper into interoperability during major incidents. By taking a few minutes to fill in an online questionnaire (at www.rusi.org/communicationinter) respondents can give their opinion on a variety of issues that may help to make interoperability easier in the future. Over the last few months, RUSI has been revisiting research first carried out in 2005–6, which led to the research paper ‘Communications Inter-Operability in a Crisis’. While that paper focused primarily on technological solutions, the new research is more concerned with human factors and operational processes, recognising that while interoperable technologies such as Airwave and the National Resilience Extranet are important, they are only part of the picture. Understanding who needs to communicate, how they communicate and when they should communicate is just as important as making sure they have the technology to communicate with.
Early indications reveal that while most respondents think interoperability has improved over the last five years, more than 80 percent feel that responder agencies still need to be more joined up. Interesting trends The early stages of the new research focused on face to face interviews with senior practitioners and policy makers from across the emergency responder community, including the three main blue light services, local authorities, central government, the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, the NPIA, BAPCO, volunteer agencies including RAYNET, and technology providers such as Airwave Solutions Ltd and Gold Standard. This has enabled themes to emerge which will be explored in more depth in the later stages of
the research. The interviews have also helped to determine the questions that are now being asked in the questionnaire survey, which went live at the beginning of December 2009. Initial results that have started to come through are showing some interesting trends. For instance, early indications reveal that while most respondents think interoperability has improved over the last five years, more than 80 percent feel that responder agencies still need to be more joined up. In particular, more than 90 percent feel that more needs to be done to join up Category 1 Responders and Category 2 Responders. Two thirds of the early respondents consider Local Resilience Forums to be a key driver in the improvements in joint working seen over the past five years, although within this key individuals are often seen as more important than the structure itself. Interestingly, so far only around one in five of the early respondents think that regional Civil Contingencies Units have had a similar impact. Training and exercising is seen as a key driver for improving inter agency cooperation by four out of five respondents. Live field exercises and tabletop events are considered to be equally valuable, with nine of out 10 respondents pointing to familiarity with other organisations and with other individuals as the most important factor. Three quarters of all respondents would welcome more national exercises run by central government and 85 percent would welcome a shared national curriculum for resilience training. Encouragingly, 100 percent of the early respondents see The Emergency Planning College as providing training and courses that are relevant and useful to all Category 1 and 2 Responders. Local Resilience Forums It is clear from the early research that interoperability continues to be driven forward through Local Resilience Forums in particular as well as through mechanisms such as the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) Guidance on Multi-Agency Interoperability, published earlier this year; guidance from the Civil Contingencies Secretariat; and increasing opportunities for joint training and exercising offered by The Fire Service College and The
Emergency Planning College, to name just a few. This provides an excellent base on which to build even better mechanisms for the future. Hard statistical data on how well responders think different approaches are working will help to focus future efforts into improving interoperability even further, which is why is it important that as many Category 1 and 2 Responders as possible take part in the survey. A copy of the interim research report can be downloaded from the RUSI website at the same link given above, a presentation on the research findings will be given at RUSI’s Command and Control conference, held from 30–31 March 2010 and the final results of the research are due to be published in July 2010. For more information on the research and on RUSI's Emergency Management research programme, please contact Jennifer Cole by e-mail at jenniferc@rusi.org. www.rusi.org/communicationinter
Author: Jennifer Cole, Head of Emergency Management, RUSI
‘Intrinsically safe’ radios for HART paramedics For the first time nationally, paramedics will be able to work within the inner cordon of major hazardous incidents, thanks to the delivery of new ‘intrinsically safe’ radios. The new Hazardous Area Response Teams (HART) across England are being equipped with radios which are safe to use in environments such as petrochemical works, industrial areas or accident scenes where there may be explosive gases. The Department of Health has ordered 10 Motorola MTP850Ex digital TETRA radios for each of the 15
HART teams in England, and they will be in operational use by April 2010. Until now, most ambulance personnel have worked only on the outer cordon of major incidents, relying on the fire and rescue service to retrieve casualties. Only a handful of ambulance services have previously used intrinsically safe radios. The radios are being delivered as part of a programme to equip the HART teams with Airwave, the secure, national communications service dedicated to public safety organisations. James Price
manages the HART team at West Midlands Ambulance Service. He said, “We have been testing these sets within West Midlands for the past two months in all levels of HART personal protective equipment. They have proven robust, reliable and effective in all situations. The delivery of these sets to all the teams shortly will see HART using safe and effective communications with a world class product from Motorola and a reliable network provided by Airwave.” www.airwavesolutions.co.uk
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Trust goes digital
West Midlands Ambulance Service has become the first ambulance trust in the country to move its emergency operations across to the new Ambulance Radio Project (ARP). The digital system replaces an analogue one that was over 40 years old and well past its sell by date. The trust started to go live on ARP in March 2009 and has now been fully operational since the middle of November. The switchover is allowing the service to reap the benefits of a far more efficient, resilient and secure means of communication. ARP is being rolled out across all ambulance services in the UK by the Department of Health and is provided by Airwave. It offers a secure, encrypted system which gives high levels of signal coverage compared to traditional analogue radios and allows ambulance staff to communicate effectively with each other. All ambulance services are expected to have moved over to ARP by the middle of 2010. Fundamental change Barry Thurston, the Trust’s Director of Service Delivery, was until recently also the National Implementation Director at the Department of Health for ARP. He said, “It [ARP] is based upon two ICCS (Integrated Communications and Control Systems) radio hubs. They are separated geographically but networked together to offer a high level of redundancy and resilience. Each of the trust’s three Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) now has the
ability to control and dispatch vehicles to 999 calls anywhere in the region. “For the West Midlands, ARP has allowed the trust to make a fundamental change in the way the control room works – for many years the Birmingham and Black Country dispatch centre had been restricted to controlling all of its resources using three analogue radio channels, often resulting in over 50 vehicles being dispatched via a single channel. “Now the trust has begun to use ARP to create multiple dispatch desks each controlling less than 20 vehicles in a ‘sector’. It also means that all of the resources in that sector, be they ambulances, rapid response cars, motorcycles or doctors, are dispatched by the same controller. The performance improvements this brought can only be good for patients. “The new system has great flexibility when it comes to communicating too. ARP allows ambulance staff to talk directly with one another via their handsets. This means that two members of staff can converse with each other privately, similar to a telephone conversation. At large incidents or at events such as V Festival, dedicated talk groups are used which allows staff to hear and communicate with their colleagues far more easily. “Another huge benefit of ARP is that ambulance staff can interoperate with commanders from other emergency services at the scenes of large or major incidents. “This project has been huge. Over 800 vehicles have been fitted with the equipment and there are literally hundreds of handsets. Despite that, the gains that the trust has been able to make have resulted in direct improvements for patient care, staff safety, better resilience and interoperability between blue light services. Even better, we are still learning how to get the best out of the system so those improvements will continue to grow in number for years to come.”
Improved communications resilience at major incidents PageOne’s two way pagers will be exclusively MTPAS (Mobile Telecommunication Privileged Access Scheme) enabled for all Category 1 and 2 Responders. The Cabinet Office run scheme ensures that all Category 1 or 2 Responders in an organisation that use PageOne two way paging will be MTPAS enabled after a special SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) is inserted into the pager.
attended the new site on the Summit Crescent industrial estate in Warley, including County President Keith Hunter and Commissioner Operations Paul Bytheway. The blessing of the building was given by Reverend Mark Pryce who was the Chaplain Designate at St John Ambulance West Midlands.
MTPAS is invoked in the event of a major incident, allowing privileged access to the mobile network for Category 1 and 2 Responders. To prevent cell overload, the number of MTPAS enabled mobile phones within each Category 1 and 2 organisation is limited, meaning that not all Category 1 and 2 Responders will receive an MTPAS enabled SIM for their phone. As PageOne’s two way pager uses the PageOne wide area paging network for outgoing messages and status and reply messages use very little data (either SMS or GPRS), PageOne can provide all Category 1 and 2 Responders in an organisation with an MTPAS enabled SIM. PageOne’s two way pager provides reliable two way communication with the speed, assurance and reach of paging with the added benefits of auto acknowledgement, location of pager and response messages returned over either GPRS or GSM (Global System for Mobile communications). The two way reply feature provides a guarantee that the message has been read. The pager includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) chip that supplies the control centre with the last known location of the pager together with a reply message, allowing for better intelligence regarding the location of Category 1 and 2 Responders and more efficient deployment of resources during a major incident. Furthermore, PageOne’s paging system allows messages to be broadcast simultaneously, maximising the number of Category 1 and 2 Responders that can receive a message as quickly as possible.
www.sja.org.uk/wmids
www.pageone.co.uk
www.wmas.nhs.uk
St John Ambulance County Operations Centre opens in West Midlands St John Ambulance held the official opening of its County Operations Centre on 14 November, with Rt Hon John Spellar MP as the guest of honour. The centre is the hub of the first aid charity’s emergency planning and is used to coordinate its response at the many events and public duties it attends throughout the West Midlands region. On display at the launch were a sample of the organisation’s fleet of 65 emergency vehicles that attend public duties in the West Midlands, including Herefordshire and Worcestershire. They support the West Midlands Ambulance Service with a range of frontline ambulances, 4x4 vehicles (used at events with difficult terrain), plus vans that transport Cycle Response Units to and from events with limited manoeuvrability, such as the Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton Half Marathons. In attendance were a number of event organisers alongside representatives from the local emergency service/health providers. A range of St John Ambulance’s 2859 volunteers in the West Midlands
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The functioning radio room, fitted with video capabilities, was on display for guests wishing to understand how an event can be controlled and managed from the centre.
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London looking to learn lessons from Winter Olympics in Vancouver We are in a remarkable sporting year, with major world events – the Football World Cup, the Commonwealth Games and the Winter Olympics – taking place on three continents. These events bring together people and nations from all around the world to enjoy and celebrate exceptional sporting talent and achievements. The Winter Olympic Games took place in Vancouver from 12–28 February, and the Paralympic Games, will follow in March. They also present the final opportunity to learn from the last Olympic Games before 2012.
The site for London 2012 Games under development in London’s East End.
Maximising our learning opportunities from such events is essential to informing and improving our plans for securing London 2012. In order to achieve this, we decided to send a small delegation of people to Vancouver whom we believed would benefit most from seeing, experiencing and, crucially, working on the challenges of a live Games.
“The UK has an excellent track record of successfully hosting and policing major events safely and securely. With less than 900 days to go until the Games arrive in London, security planning is on time and on budget.” A total of 27 officers and staff from the police service and the Home Office are being deployed to Vancouver for short periods of time during the Games. The vast majority of these hold key senior operational roles in the planning and delivery of security for 2012, including members of the police
command team and those overseeing border security and accreditation. Positive relationship We and our partners in the police have built an extremely close, positive relationship with our counterparts in Vancouver – building on the existing excellent relationship between the two countries. They are a close ally. The relationship has meant we have unprecedented levels of access to the Canadian security operation; in addition to observing, the majority of staff are working alongside and shadowing their counterparts within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Canadian border security to actively deliver the Canadian security programme. This has allowed excellent access to elements of the process we most want to observe, and has provided valuable lessons and first hand experience which will be brought back to the UK to be shared among colleagues and implemented in our own security. While there are undoubtedly differences in the scale of the Winter Games and Summer Games, this has been a tremendous opportunity to see how a city changes and operates while hosting the Olympics, an event with many unique elements. There are many parallels between Canadian and UK systems and processes, and the two countries have many things in common. Many of the operational elements are those that we will need to perform during our own Games. While we await the Paralymic Games in March, we know that observing and participating in key elements of the Olympic security operation, such as
border security, accreditation, transport security, coordination and intelligence handling has already yielded invaluable learning and experience. While in Vancouver I have personally had the opportunity to see some of the security operation in practice. The UK has an excellent track record of successfully hosting and policing major events safely and securely. With less than 900 days to go until the Games arrive in London, security planning is on time and on budget. The past 12 months have seen significant progress made on Olympic security planning. Working with our partners, we have seen the approval and publication of the Olympic Safety and Security Strategy and the development of a National Concept of Operations, which describes how the strategy will be delivered. The installation of biometric scanners at the Olympic Park and the £39m investment by the Home Office to ensure increased Airwave capacity for the emergency services during the Games are but a few of the other achievements that have been made to date. There is still much to do, and the year ahead promises to be no less busy, challenging, or exciting. Vancouver will show us that there are many challenges to come, but these are challenges I am absolutely confident we will meet. www.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
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Author: Robert Raine, Director of Olympic and Paralympic Security
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The Family Assistance Centre – a thinking man’s or woman’s guide In the words of the late lamented John Denver, ‘I'm leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again’. This could be quite prophetic, especially if your particular flying machine ends up on platform three of Richmond railway station during the rush hour. This is one of the most popular disaster scenarios among London emergency response planners; there’s been a serious aviation accident and unfortunately this has happened on your watch and in your bailiwick. But will the owners of this particular aircraft, ie the airline, help with the post accident humanitarian response? Well, we will if you let us. ings. In this situation the giver of information is addressing the audience effectively one to one. This not only provides for good communications but also does help to prevent riots! A top tip is that if you are required to pass on information to an audience, be it press or families, make sure you have command of the room. People want to hear what you have to say and are therefore prepared to be organised by you into an orderly throng. Never have anyone behind you and have a door to hand so you can end the briefing at your discretion. Having said that, when leaving, always announce the time of the next briefing.
I should explain! Air carriers are not a responder under the UK’s Civil Contingencies Act. As is well known when the blue light services have finished with the survivors and victims’ relatives they then become the responsibility of the local authority. This is the moment that we hope that statutory responders will remember the air transport industry and embrace us in a brotherly hug. What can we do to help? Well, apart from travel, language and logistical service we would very much like to assist with the provision of the Humanitarian Aid Centre. Just to be confusing, the aviation business calls them Family Assistance Centres, in accordance with the International Air Transport Association naming convention. I was on the committee that came up with all these names and it was like watching paint dry. Example – you can’t use the word ‘welfare’ anywhere as it’s the name of unemployment benefit in the US. Neither can you use the word ‘care’ as one US airline has copyrighted the term for its humanitarian help team and please don’t start me off on the definition of the word ‘family’. So what would airlines like to offer in the form of an FAC or HAC? Firstly, process ownership will very much remain with the local authority but we do hope that the offer of our Marriot or Crown Plaza hotel will be accepted. At least then we can all be comfy and, unfortunately, the airline industry does have experience in how these centres work. Let’s now have a look at the physicality and content of a Family Assistance Centre. We obviously need a fair sized hotel as it should be able to provide most of the requirements to sustain life in a reasonably civilised way. I know, I know you’ve stayed in a duff B&B in Brighton but let’s not get picky. Actually the need is for several hotels, the exact number being dependent on bedroom and public room availability. Having said that, the minimum hotel number requirement will be two. The hostelry with the greater facilities will become home for the families. The second will act as a sort of sanctuary for all agencies and volunteers working the accident. Hotel numbers may also go up due to geography. Say you have injured survivors residing within a distant hospital then their loved ones may well wish to be lodged close by. Secure area Now we have our central hotel, how are we going to organise it? A comfortable waiting area is a start-
ing point. It must have good quality furnishings, preferably with plenty of flowers and circular tables. Round tables allow small self help groups to be formed. This area must be completely secure particularly from the press and support agencies. When people wish to see counsellors, lawyers, undertakers and the like it must be up to them when they wish to do so. To facilitate this all agencies, authorities and voluntary groups should be given a room to set up shop in and then this can be visited whenever the families are ready.
“Experience has shown that 90 percent of your time will be spent looking after about 10 percent of the families or survivors. Whatever problems these folks had before the accident, unfortunately, are now yours.” Believe it or not some survivors and/or their families wish to do press interviews so it is far better to facilitate this than to allow filmed interviews to be conducted on street corners in the pelting rain. Citizen journalism is also a problem – stopping relatives videoing everything that is going on in the centre is going to be difficult. A separate theatre type room is required for brief-
Command centre Other facilities include room for child care, communications and privacy. Faith groups and bereavement charities all need quiet space to operate in as do police and investigators. Last but certainly not least, you will need a command centre for all the operations going on in the FAC/HAC. This will include the travel desk as well as volunteer allocation, logistics and procurement. The second hotel will have to have a completely different atmosphere. Here is where all the care givers (I’ve used the ‘care’ word – I’ll get sued!) need to relax and chill out. Put all this together with overnight accommodation for all and you can see we are proposing a fairly substantial set up. This facility will be made available for at least two weeks. I'll be completely honest with you, all this is really a sort of inducement, hopefully persuading all designated responders that airlines are very useful allies in the task of providing the best possible humanitarian care for all caught up in any serious accident. One last tip, experience has shown that 90 percent of your time will be spent looking after about 10 percent of the families or survivors. Whatever problems these folks had before the accident, unfortunately, are now yours. As for poor old John Denver, he did leave on a plane, it wasn’t a jet but, due to mechanical failure, he didn’t come back again. www.flybmi.com
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Author: Ian Marshall, bmi and Chair, United Kingdom Aviation Emergency Planners Group
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Update London 2009 – Blue Lights and Beyond A recent conference held by the Metropolitan Police Service’s Emergency Preparedness Unit brought together emergency planners from across London to share knowledge and information about emergency planning. The conference presented a unique opportunity for emergency planners to get to know each other, allowing them to understand each other’s roles and responsibilities and where their limits lie. London faces a particular challenge in terms of emergency planning because of the number of different local authority areas – there are 33 local authorities and six Local Resilience Forums. Achieving a consistency of approach, knowledge and information across the region can present difficulties. While every organisation aims to plan, train and hold contingency exercises with resilience partners, it is sometimes difficult due to the number of different people involved. Following the successful inaugural conference in 2008, this year’s event, ‘Blue Lights and Beyond’ took place in November 2009. Attending the day were 200 representatives from London’s emergency planning community ranging across the emergency services, the local authorities and other organisations such as the Health Protection Agency. Regular exercises Commander Bob Broadhurst (MPS Central Operations lead for Emergency Planning) opened the event, stressing the need for all organisations to work, train and hold regular contingency exercises together, learning the lessons from these and other live incidents. Guto Harri, the Mayor's Director of Communications and self confessed ‘poacher turned gamekeeper, having formerly been the BBC North America correspondent, was the first speaker of the day. He highlighted the need for responders to engage early with the media following a major incident and offered his ‘top tips’ for effective media management.
“A unique opportunity for the capital’s emergency planning community to be informed, updated, supported and most importantly, to meet as one.”
Attending the day were 200 representatives from London’s emergency planning community.
the assistance that the airlines and their alliances can offer the authorities in this situation. (See article on page 74) Professor Andrew Silke from the University of East London gave a fascinating academic perspective on terrorism, the organisations and individuals involved. His unique delivery together with first hand studies of convicted terrorists provided the audience with an entertaining and alternative view of the subject.
The London Update was provided by Chief Supt Simon Lewis, Head of the Met’s Emergency Preparedness Unit, Lorraine Shepherd (London Resilience) and Chris Duffield (local authorities). This ensured that every organisation received the same messages at the same time, including about the upcoming review of the Civil Contingencies Act and its implications for London. Ian Marshall, Head of Emergency Planning for bmi, gave a unique insight into the response to major incidents within the aviation industry and
Olympic progress Olympic preparations were a continuing theme from last year with The MPS Olympic Security Directorate and London Resilience providing an insight into progress being made towards the ultimate goal of policing and delivering a safe and secure games. This subject will be a recurring theme at future conferences and is an important conduit into London’s overall planning and preparation for the 60 day Olympic period. The conference concluded with a dynamic presentation from Mark Scoggins, Solicitor Advocate from
Fisher, Scoggins, Waters. Mark’s subject was the legal implications of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and was a timely reminder to both the individuals and organisations represented that at some point they may be held to account for their actions during, and in the preparation for a major incident. The Mayor’s office and the Greater London Authority continued their support of the conference with the generous offer of the use of the Debating Chamber and London’s Living Room, where a market place and buffet lunch were held. Update London proved a unique opportunity for the capital’s emergency planning community to be informed, updated, supported and, most importantly, to meet as one. www.met.police.uk
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Author: Graham Leedham, Police Constable, Emergency Planner, CO3 Operational Command Unit, Met Police
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Exercise Harrier – testing London's multi agency response arrangements The London Resilience Partnership brings together the Government, the Mayor of London and all the capital’s key responding agencies and organisations to prepare London for the consequences of a major emergency. The partnership’s annual Training and Exercising Programme is crucial in validating our plans and the cornerstone of the programme for 2009 was Exercise Harrier. In recent years we’ve exercised, among others, London’s local authority arrangements for their combined response. Building on our earlier successes, Exercise Harrier was a significant step change with a greater number of players and length of incident. The exercise involved over 250 players from 37 London based organisations. Each cell required to respond to a major incident was fully functional, this included the military, media and, for the first time, the Scientific Technical Advisory Cell. A significant test Exercise Harrier was designed to provide a significant test to London’s multi agency response arrangements. Held over 20 playing hours across two days in October 2009, the exercise brought together key regional responders in a Strategic Coordination Group setting to activate and utilise the range of regional response plans and arrangements. It tested specifically the command and control processes for London through an incident and into the recovery. Utilising the expertise and immersive learning processes of Hydra Operations of the Metropolitan Police Service, a table top scenario was developed, based on a risk on the Regional Risk Register. The scenario involved an aviation incident over a semi urban area with two crashed commercial planes, resulting in over 150 fatalities, 500 injuries and significant infrastructure damage to a vast area of east London with severe recovery repercussions. The scenario had enough to test each playing responding organisation to the full. Planning for the exercise began a year in advance, with a multi agency planning group instituted, and led, by the London Resilience Team of the Govern-
ment Office for London. Scenarios were developed to test and stretch responding organisations and, to ensure realism, subject matter experts from the aviation industry and utility providers were brought in to assist the planning group. During the exercise the same experts were part of the control group to change injects and react to decision making within each cell.
“Visual injects created a feeling of immersion for players, allowing them to become engrossed in the scenario as if it were a real life event.” Response and recovery The exercise was split into two separate sessions; response and recovery. The response section saw four separate Gold Coordination Group meetings held with representation from all the key London responding organisations, chaired by a senior police officer from the Metropolitan Police Service. Using time warping, the exercise was able to fast forward a number of hours to allow the response phase to span across two whole days. A Recovery Working Group was convened at the outset and eventually assumed control of the incident from the Gold Coordination Group once the response phase was completed; this was chaired by a
local authority Chief Executive from a London borough. Using the Hydra system, video, audio and paper feeds were created to provide injects into cells – where possible, injects replicated the format which they would have been received in by each cell. These visual injects created a feeling of immersion for players, allowing them to become engrossed in the scenario as if it were a real life event. Local BBC TV reporters were also involved to provide mock reports. A post exercise report is being written by the Regional Resilience Team of the Government Office for the West Midlands to identify and capture some of the key lessons learnt. Continuous learning will take place with workshops held during 2010 to develop the strategic thinking capability of the London Resilience Partnership and the delivery of an awareness programme of response plans to partners. Partnership training An exercise of this scale is only held in London once every 18 months due to the commitment and resources which go into developing such an event. However the exercise is just one strand of the partnership training and exercising programme. It is complemented by a variety of other training, exercising and workshop events across London throughout the year of varying scale and led by a number of partners. www.gol.gsi.gov.uk
Author: Stephen Polly, Senior Resilience Manager (Olympics), London Resilience Team
The Resilience Centre at Cranfield University
The Resilience Centre at Cranfield University in Shrivenham, near Oxford, was specifically established to help improve the capacity of organisations and societies to respond to disruptive challenges and crises through academic research and the pro-
vision of relevant education, training and operational support. The centre’s Masters courses and its short, applied training courses, focus on analysis but also on practical assistance for those engaged in emergency operations at home and abroad to support capacity building in both disaster risk reduction and in all aspects of effective crisis, disaster, security and risk management. Current courses include: the Resilience MSc/PgDip/PgCert; a disasters and emergencies course; an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) awareness course; and various crisis management courses. Analytical and practical expertise The staff of the centre include academics and senior experienced officials who formerly worked
for emergency services, armed forces, United Nations, humanitarian organisations and other agencies. The centre is home to the internationally acclaimed Cranfield Mine Action group and the Disasters and Emergencies group which works with emergency services and humanitarian agencies throughout in the UK and abroad. Staff act as advisers to governments, international organisations and NGOs at home and abroad on aspects of security threats and resilience responses that range from food security, humanitarian responses and nuclear challenges in North Korea to developing mine action programmes in the Caucasus or working with local authorities and emergency services in the UK to develop improved procedures and to provide training for staff. www.cranfield.ac.uk/cds/resiliencecentre
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Response–SV: design intervention Since first opening its doors for business about a year ago, Response–SV, the UK’s newest and most technologically advanced ambulance designer and manufacturer, has quietly started a revolution by introducing the first real ambulance innovations in over 20 years. With a team of top designers and manufacturing professionals, Response–SV’s capabilities are making a big splash in the UK’s ambulance market, with ambulance vehicles that stand head and shoulders above the rest in terms of interior ergonomics, aesthetics, functionality, adaptability, operational cost savings, environmental impact and infection control – and all while offering its vehicles at highly competitive prices. The Response–SV ethos is simple: design and manufacture specialist vehicles which deliver superior medical outcomes in a socially responsible manner. Technological advancements invented, not adopted A large part of Response–SV’s core strength is based around its investment in technology. What sets the company apart from other ambulance manufacturers across Europe is its utilisation of the latest computer technologies and manufacturing materials, in building ambulances whose features and operational benefits are years ahead of their time. While most European ambulance manufacturers are still building vehicles using inadequate materials, including bacteria harbouring timber laminates, and awkward, harsh metallic cabinet extrusions – all put together using dated manufacturing techniques – Response–SV has introduced a revolutionary building process using modern materials, largely composed of ABS plastics, fibreglasses, resins and composites, enabling them not only to produce visually impressive curved forms, but more importantly making Response–SV vehicle bodies and conversions lighter, safer and more efficient in use than their competitors. Utilising the vehicle industry’s most advanced
CAD-CAM design software in tandem with its CNC (computer numerically controlled) five axis cutting tool (one of the largest of its kind in the UK) Response–SV is quickly able to design and manufacture complex, intricate parts on site. Within hours of being designed, Response–SV can create new part ‘plugs’ to perfect form and symmetry for completion through a chosen GPS laminator or polymer moulding supplier, who can often complete the parts within 24 hours. Moreover, the company’s capacity for producing intricate and bespoke parts can be carried over into metal work. Via its Bystronic™ laser technology cutting machinery and precision folding equipment, Response–SV is able to produce complex metallic parts for strength through form. One major advantage of this capability is the company’s utilisation of intelligent vehicle reinforcements, giving it maximum strength at low weight throughout its vehicle builds. As can clearly be seen in its finished products, Response–SV’s engineering prowess has taken the game to new levels, and to top it off, the engineering and manufacturing of all manner of complex parts only takes them hours, not ‘industry standard’ weeks. Revolutionary MediMax ambulance range In its first year of production, Response–SV has concentrated on the A&E ambulance sector. The company produced four new ambulance vehicle designs and launched two new ambulance products within its first seven months of operation, including the remarkable sub 3.5t range of van conversion A&E ambulances called MediMax. It’s plain to see the amazing results of Response–SV’s precision engineering and cutting edge technologies in the MediMax range. Built to CEN 1789:2007, MediMax delivers a dramatically reduced carbon footprint, estimated to be around 26 tonnes over a typical five year operating life. These ambulances are easily adaptable to customers’ specific requirements, both inside and out, and are available on a
wide range of manufacturers’ chassis. Further savings can be realised when you factor in that MediMax does not require HGV (class C) licensing or driver training. Of further note is MediMax’s configurable patient handling options, its range of bespoke internal and external components, all LED interior and exterior lighting and its ability to accommodate all stretcher types. Fully loaded, these ambulances offer a payload capacity of between 500 and 1000kg depending on the customer’s chassis preference. Response–SV vehicles are designed with a view to the best possible hygiene of the operating environment within its ambulance saloons. As such, the vehicles’ free flowing moulded forms are designed for ease of cleaning and to minimise contaminant build up by keeping ‘dirt trap’ opportunities to an absolute minimum. The company’s ambulances do not incorporate any organic material contact surfaces that can harbour dirt and bacteria.
These ambulances are easily adaptable to customers’ specific requirements, both inside and out, and are available on a wide range of manufacturers’ chassis. Safety ‘In Numbers’ Above all other vehicle design elements, Response–SV recognises that passenger safety is of paramount concern. Capitalising on its design expertise and safety testing technologies such as Finite Element Analysis, Response–SV’s designers are able to gather and analyse invaluable information on the vehicle conversions’ core strength and stress points. This allows them to extract all unnecessary weight and add reinforcements where needed. With all of MediMax’s technological innovations and capabilities it’s easy to see that the employment of these revolutionary lightweight ambulances gives operators the distinct advantage of dramatically reduced overall operating and fuel costs.
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Response–SV’s ambulances offer a range of options that will satisfy its customers’ wide range of functional, aesthetic and cost requirements. Through application of the team’s considerable ambulance design experience, a vast list of preengineered product options have been generated from which customers may configure new vehicles to their exact preferences. Through preengineering of ‘modular’ fitting options, Response–SV is able to furnish its vehicles with bespoke piece parts manufactured using modern materials and assembly techniques. This enables the company to offer a wide variety of interior layouts and functional devices. Response–SV’s integrated specification system operates from conception through to inspection. The options customers select directly generate a build description document and quotation, and relays the information through to detailed production line instructions, including manuals, a bill of materials, inspection schedules and parts lists for production staff. This total integration means vehicle builds at Response–SV are managed effectively and efficiently, and all vehicles, whether one offs or volume orders, are built to the specification required.
One stop shop In response to recent government cutbacks and the general struggle to secure financing throughout all areas of manufacturing, Response–SV is pleased to announce new financing services as well as a complete service package alongside its industry leading ambulance and specialist vehicle products. This new package allows the company to: • Build and customise ambulance and specialist vehicle products to clients’ specific needs • Offer competitive financing and commercially competitive rates • Provide sale and leaseback to generate cash for ‘hard to finance’ needs • Offer a complete service package for the entire lifecycle of the vehicle. Furthermore, Response–SV’s ‘One Stop Shop’ package: • Effectively eliminates disposal issues • Eliminates the need for huge capital expenditure, allowing trusts and privateers the freedom to invest their money in other areas of their services • Ensures that the vehicles are properly maintained throughout their entire lives.
rECOvery As one of the industry’s most progressive and forward thinking young companies, Response–SV’s future is bright, and it is looking forward to unveiling some exemplary new products in the near future. Later in 2010, the company will deliver its remarkable new rECOvery range of sub 3.5t ‘box body’ A&E ambulances. This ambulance range promises to change the landscape of ambulance operations and manufacturing standards worldwide. As with its smaller brother, the MediMax, rECOvery ambulances will be built upon a wide range of manufacturers’ chassis and promise to cut overall operating costs in a way never seen before. Similar to the MediMax, rECOvery will eliminate the need for Type ‘C’ HGV vehicle licensing, offer a dramatically reduced carbon footprint and deliver Response–SV’s cutting edge innovations for infection control. It will be fully CEN 1789:2007 compliant, offer a wide range of client configurable options both inside and out, eliminate the need for plating requirements, as well as accommodating all stretcher types, and offering a payload in the order of 770kg. The possibilities The groundbreaking features of Response–SV’s lightweight ambulance ranges will enable its customers to instantly achieve lasting operational savings and benefits while ensuring that its fleets are ‘future proofed’. Regarded by clients and supplier partners as ‘a breath of fresh air’, the team at Response–SV is delighted with the reception its revolutionary ambulances have been receiving. There is certainly a lot to look forward to in the coming years for Response–SV. The business will continue to establish and develop, and to offer a wider, increasingly exciting and unparalleled range of innovative emergency response and specialist vehicles, while constantly creating and embracing new design ideas and technologies. The company’s greatest achievement could well prove to be that its contributions to ambulance design and manufacturing processes have induced change for the better across the industry, which will allow all of us to benefit from better emergency response care. For more information or to book your bespoke build for delivery in 2010 visit the website. www.Response–SV.com
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Inter agency mass fatality management Planning for mass fatality incidents is probably the least favourite task of the emergency planner, but it can’t be avoided. No set number defines a mass fatality incident – just the circumstance where the number of deaths is more than normal local arrangements can manage. Building the capability will always require mutual aid arrangements and temporary facilities – particularly temporary mortuaries. In 1988, the Lockerbie air disaster saw the town’s ice rink and Town Hall used as temporary mortuaries. In other incidents, hotels, sports stadiums, refrigerated trucks, church halls and even crematoria were pressed into service. A step change in the quality of preparation and provision was marked in 2005, when the 7 July London bombings, in which 56 people died, triggered the construction of a quadruple prefabricated forensic mortuary facility in the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company in the City of London. But setting up a temporary mortuary is much more than simply finding the right building. It is axiomatic that all agencies on the scene, and all of their staff or volunteers, need the right information, resources, skills, management and leadership. Though UK examples are few, incidents like Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are a stark reminder of what happens when the essential partnership of responders is poorly led and organised. Interestingly Katrina also demonstrated what can be achieved by inspired leadership and partnership – the conversion of an airport into the world’s largest temporary hospital. Inspired leadership and partnership In the aftermath of a mass fatality incident, there is the need to cater for the equally important roles but varying mandates of a very wide range of professionals and organisations – the police and NHS, local authorities, coroners, pathologists, pathology technologists, forensic odontologists, the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team, the Human Tissue Agency, Environment Agency and government departments. And when the same temporary facility must accommodate a range of different activities, reconciling the responsibilities and legal requirements of all parties is not a trivial task. Competing priorities must be balanced – for instance, between the constraints imposed by categorising remains as criminal evidence and the requirement to sensitively recover, process and decontaminate remains as well as deal with family members and loved ones of the deceased. Some requirements have to be delivered despite apparent conflict. After 7/7, the mortuary arrangements had to deliver forensic integrity – protecting and separating evidence from four locations. They also had to provide a suitable reception for families – receiving their vehicles in undercover, and providing surroundings that were private, sympathetic, dignified and acceptable to diverse cultures and religions. Range of issues In summary, the range of issues which need planning and management in connection with temporary mortuaries includes: location – easy vehicle access, secure fencing; licensing – essential before a temporary mortuary can legally operate; accommo-
193 people died when the Townsend Thoresen ferry the Herald of Free Enterprise capsized on 6 March 1987.
dation – suitable and secure buildings or purpose made pre-fabs plus lighting, air conditioning etc for forensic storage and pathology; utilities – power, water, telephone/data, suitable waste handling; parking – private, suitable for large vehicles, capable of being screened for privacy; and reception areas – separate for each forensic laboratory if there are multiple incidents, specific private and screened entrance for relatives.
“In the aftermath of a mass fatality incident, there is the need to cater for the equally important roles but varying mandates of a very wide range of professionals and organisations.” Conference Community Resilience, a not for profit organisation with connections across the resilience community, is bringing more than 150 professionals together at the Commonwealth Club in London on 16 March to discuss these issues. The audience will include coroners, pathologists, police officers, local authority emergency planning and resilience officers, mortuary personnel together with representatives from Government Offices and the courts service. This conference has been designed to build better
mutual understanding of roles, responsibilities and legal requirements in this very complex area, sharing experience and lessons. Equally importantly, it aims to foster the creation of a wide network of people that will develop and sustain this understanding, and facilitate mutual aid in the event of a mass fatality incident. Below is a brief overview of some of the organisations involved. Community Resilience Community Resilience provides emergency warehouse and office space held on standby for the public sector. It draws on a large bank of empty commercial warehousing and offices, made available by their owners, which are fully serviced with power, telecommunications and other utilities. An authority which takes up the scheme has exclusive 24/7 standby access on a pay as you use basis. The premises stand empty, ready for immediate occupation. The potential occupier already holds the keys. For the first 30 days of use, public authorities pay no rent, but they do pay for all utilities and for the costs of adaptation and cleanup. After 30 days, they pay a pre-agreed, daily rent. Facilities arranged by Community Resilience can variously be used as a disaster or ‘overflow’ mortuary, hospital space, emergency storage, humanitarian relief centre, or as office space for local authorities or responders. Unlike commercial providers, the contention ratio guaranteed by Community Resilience ratio is 1:1. Organisations can always be sure facilities are ready whenever needed, whatever the emergency. Community Resilience makes no charge to public authorities for this service. Their costs are borne by the owners of the premises, who take part in the scheme as part of their corporate social responsibility programmes.
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Environment Agency The Environment Agency has responsibility for the protection and improvement of the environment. The UK water industry has a major role in managing and controlling pollution from their assets to the environment from both major and minor incidents. When planning emergency arrangements for temporary mortuaries and decontamination of bodies, it is critical to consider the disposal of contaminated material to ensure that there is no pollution to the local environment. If not appropriately contained and treated, such polluting material could have a detrimental effect on personnel operating and maintaining the sewerage and surface water drainage networks and the sewage treatment works processes, with potential to pollute both the natural and human environment, eg through contamination of drinking water intakes. Delegates from the Environment Agency and the UK water industry will speak at the conference about some of the risks that such facilities can pose to the water and waste water networks and the environment. They are keen to provide guidance to ensure that appropriate disposal routes are identified prior to mass fatality events ahead of the publication of a revised version of the Water UK document ‘Protocol for the Disposal of Contaminated Water in a Major Incident’. Home Office Mass Fatalities is one of the 20 workstreams in the Cabinet Office led Capabilities Programme, the core framework through which the Government is seeking to build resilience across all parts of the United Kingdom. As the designated lead for this workstream, the Home Office aims to ensure that the UK has the capability at local, regional and national levels to deal with the number of fatalities set out in the National Resilience Planning Assumptions. At the conference, the Home Office is set to outline the statutory basis for mass fatality planning. Its representative will make clear what local authorities’ responsibilities are as Category 1 Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act to plan for dealing with emergencies, with specific regard to mass fatality incidents. It will also look at the organisation’s role under the Coroners Act in supporting their Coroners’ obligation to conduct inquiries into bodies lying within their district where the death is
suspected to be violent, unnatural, sudden or of unknown cause. Alongside this, the Home Office will set out the Government’s policy context for planning, from recommendations in reviews of previous incidents to the setting up of the Capabilities Programme. The session will explore the approach the Home Office is taking to capability planning for mass fatalities, spell out the support currently available to local authorities and outline in broad terms its plans and priorities for the future. Coroners Where a coroner is informed that the body of a person is lying within his or her district, and there is reasonable cause to suspect that the deceased has died a violent or an unnatural death, or has died a sudden death of which the cause is unknown, the coroner must hold an inquest. At the inquest, the coroner has to identify the deceased and ascertain how the deceased died. Post mortem examination is often needed to carry out this duty. The usual facilities for investigation are often overwhelmed in the case of mass fatality incidents and it is in these circumstances that temporary mortuary facilities may need to be used. Human Tissue Authority The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) is a watchdog that supports public confidence by licensing and inspecting organisations that store and use human tissue for purposes such as research, patient
treatment, post mortem examination, teaching and public exhibitions, operating under the Human Tissue Act 2004 (HT Act). The HTA has been working with the Home Office and others to develop a system for the provision of a licence in the event of a mass fatality incident resulting in the need for an emergency temporary mortuary. It now has a firm policy in place and is developing strong links with the key stakeholders who would be involved in setting up and operating emergency mortuaries. In the event of a major incident resulting in mass fatalities, the HTA will provide a reactive licensing and inspection service. The relevant licences can be issued quickly. A HTA site visit may be necessary and should be factored into processes detailed in the mass fatalities plan.
The HTA will arrange to join the mass fatality coordination team meeting. During this meeting the authority will provide guidance on the role of the DI and LH. It will also use this opportunity to review the completed compliance report and view the facilities. At the conference the HTA will provide an overview of the licensing requirements of the HT Act in relation to a mass fatality situation and the key steps which need to be taken by those involved in emergency planning to meet those requirements. The HTA currently licenses 293 static establishments in the post mortem sector, including NHS and public mortuaries who undertake post mortem examinations. How to book For more information about the conference, and to book, visit www.communityresilience.cc Tel: 0845 465 2004 or e-mail: stephen.graham@communityresilience.cc. Members of the Emergency Planning Society qualify for discounted tickets. www.communityresilience.cc
On 21 December 1988, Pan Am flight 103 from London to New York exploded over Lockerbie, in southern Scotland. All 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground were killed.
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Author: Mike Granatt, Advisor to Community Resilience, former Head of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, Cabinet Office
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Advances in Disaster Victim Identification UKDVI (UK Disaster Victim Identification) provides a capability for Her Majesty’s Government to deal with major incidents that tragically result in mass fatalities. Commissioned by the Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UKDVI continues to develop and now has in excess of 600 trained personnel who are mainly operational in the areas of victim recovery and within the mortuary to gather post mortem information. In addition there are also trained Family Liaison Officers who not only understand the needs of families following the loss of loved ones, but also know how best to gather ante mortem information in order to maximise the opportunities for a speedy and accurate identification. Both the post mortem and ante mortem information is compared to establish an identification in accordance with the requirements of HM Coroner. There is a vast amount of information gathered in the aftermath of any mass fatality incident but identification must be forensically based by utilising one of the three primary identifiers – DNA, odontology and fingerprints.
Lord West (right) visits the UK DVI stand at The Emergency Services Show 2009.
Forensic steering groups UKDVI has now established two forensic steering groups. The first is to oversee the development of the Forensic Matching Units based in London, West Midlands and West Yorkshire, with a possibility of further units in Scotland and Northern Ireland in the future. These units will be staffed by specially trained personnel to reconcile the ante mortem and post mortem information. The second steering group is for forensic provision and has pathologists, odontologists, radiographers, anatomical pathology technologists and anthropologists represented on it. Chaired by the Home Office, it also includes the Human Tissue Authority and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and exists to ensure that all the scientists are trained and available to respond as UKDVI members should an event take place.
UKDVI now also has a capability to recover and identify victims from a contaminated/hazardous environment. Police officers trained in CBRN/DVI working alongside the relevant scientists together with colleagues from the fire and rescue and ambulance services means that identification procedures can be carried out safely. The development of mobile scanning equipment by the NHS has been immensely helpful in this area of DVI. Work with NPIA has resulted in a new Senior Identification Manager Course and a Scene Evidence Recovery Manager Course. The Advanced Course is under review and the newly developed course should be available later this year. Seminar held The first UKDVI Seminar was held at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry in November last year, running
alongside The Emergency Services Show. This was a fantastic event, attended by 400 DVI practitioners. It is hoped that a similar event will take place this year. Clearly there is still a lot to do but the UK is now recognised globally for the work in developing DVI. ACC Debbie Simpson (Devon & Cornwall) is now the ACPO Lead, with Graham Sunderland as the Strategic Director. Nigel Humphreys is the UKDVI Development Officer, Ian Cartmell is the UKDVI Coordinator and Dave Thrower is responsible for UKDVI Training & Exercising. Graham Sunderland has recently been nominated as the Deputy Chair of the Interpol DVI Steering Group, to take the Chair from 2012. For the UK to be Chairing this international group at the time of the Olympics indicates how highly regarded and respected we are internationally in DVI. UKDVI has assisted the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the respective Gold Commands in several recent tragedies overseas involving British citizens, such as the Air France crash in Brazil and the Ethopian Airline crash, both commanded by West Midlands. Also the horrendous situation following the earthquake in Haiti, commanded by Cumbria. Government commitment This work could not continue without the ongoing commitment of the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, who recognise its importance. UKDVI works closely with HM Coroners who oversee the procedures. It is worth remembering that the main reason UKDVI exists is to provide the families of victims involved in such tragic and horrendous events with the knowledge that their loved ones will be accurately identified in a respectful and dignified manner. UKDVI cannot make the trauma and heartache better but, without its professional approach, it could make it substantially worse. www.acpo.police.uk
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Just click
www.aireshelta.co.uk
Aireshelta Plc Station Yard, Station Road Langley Mill, Nottingham NG16 4BQ Tel: 01773 768352; Mob: 07961 672000; Fax: 01773 715327 info@aireshelta.com www.aireshelta.com Contact: Kevin Bradley, Managing Director
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Clear view body bag
Specifically designed for high risk and contamination instances, the Clear View Body Bag/Containment Pouch from SP Servicesuses a clear liner system that allows for viewing of the deceased without the risk of contamination, fluid leakage or odour. Both the inner and outer layer have heavy duty envelope style zippers for easy use. Key features include: encompasses cadaver in a clear layer of vinyl allowing inspection without contamination, fluid leakage or odours; envelope style fasteners with two zip pulls; six heavy duty carrying handles; constructed from 1000 denier polyester reinforced vinyl material; all seams are RF sealed and fully leakproof; 386kg lifting capacity; and dimensions are 228.5 x 91cm. www.spservices.co.uk
Mortuary response system Professional Protection Systems has added another dimension to the sector with the introduction of its mortuary response system, which made its debut at The Emergency Services Show 2009. Designated the MERCSystem™ (mortuary enhanced remains cooling) it has been designed for dealing with cadavers in situations where the numbers of individuals killed exceed the capacity of the usual facilities to process them. The compactness of the system allows almost any temporary or permanent building to be used as a mortuary without the investment and infrastructure required for conventional cooling cabinets. At the centre of the system is a direct contact fully portable cooling unit, utilising liquid cooling technology. The MERC system is the first direct contact cooling system using this technology in conjunction with lightweight contact pads and cooling bags to cool up to 48 human remains. www.ppsgb.com
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Medicine off the beaten track Emergency Services Times readers will know that providing high quality critical care anywhere outside of a well equipped emergency room is a challenge to any medical professional. Add to this the extreme environments regularly faced by search and rescue (SAR) organisations and treatment that would usually be straightforward in a home, or even at a roadside, can become inappropriate, dangerous or impossible. The UK SAR Medical Group (a working group of the UKSAR Operators Group) aims to highlight these problem areas and offer SAR operators expert advice on the medical and legal aspects of dealing with casualties. The group’s members represent a range of organisations, from mountain, cave and sea rescuers to fire and rescue services, police services, military and the Department of Health. Chairman Tony Jones believes medical professionals aren’t always the best people to take on a cave, mountain or sea rescue mission. “One of the key things we’re trying to get over is that it can actually be inappropriate to have an experienced clinician working in a SAR environment if it’s an environment that is foreign to them,” he explains. “SAR personnel must be a specialist in their surroundings first, a rescuer second and a provider of care third.” Clinical governance The Group has a role in protecting SAR organisations from the implications of clinical governance that may prove impossible to apply in difficult operational circumstances. Tony adds, “Sometimes there are positioning statements issued by medical bodies on procedures, such as oxygen usage. But such directions aren’t always applicable in the world we operate in and SAR operators can find them very difficult to comply with. With our help, it can be agreed that such guidelines do not apply in some circumstances. It’s all about us helping the wider profession to understand that SAR medicine is a specialist subset.” This isn’t to say the group doesn’t place importance on patient care. Its members agree that this highly specialised area of prehospital medicine should achieve the highest standard of care possible – but recognise that this ambition can be compromised in SAR environments. Competent rescuers are taught the medicine they need to know. They are often, therefore, the best medics available because they are the only people with the skills to reach and recover the casualty. And recovery is essential, since it’s been proven in prehospital trauma care that prolonging a casualty’s time on the scene can be more detrimental than removing them
to an emergency room. There have also been instances where well intentioned interventions from medics that do not have SAR backgrounds have increased the risk to both the casualty and rescuers. “Imagine an exhausted and significantly hypothermic caver a mile underground,” says group member and British Cave Rescue Council representative Bill Whitehouse, citing an example. “Rescue teams have learned that on site rewarming, hot drinks and food will usually induce a recovery sufficient for the casualty to walk, crawl and climb their own way back to the surface with help. This departs from normal medical practice, which dictates insulation and careful movement by stretcher.” Another example used by the group is a sea rescue scenario. “Imagine an injured surfer washed on to rocks, being pounded by 2m waves,” says the group’s RNLI representative, Howard Ramm. “Lifeguards reach him and they suspect a spine injury. Usually, the priority would be immobilising the spine. But, in these circumstances, it’s not feasible – getting the casualty and themselves out of danger has to take precedence.” The group also points out that detailed examinations can be tricky and inadvisable in some environments. “It’s normal to remove clothing if it inhibits a full examination of a patient’s injuries,” explains Mountain Rescue England and Wales representative Dr William Lamb. “But, on a mountain in a blizzard, that could cause more problems than it solves. Rescuers have to balance the benefits of a detailed examination with the need to maintain insulation, and get on with the evacuation.” The group has worked hard to create a framework for recognised levels of SAR medical capability, so that operators can work with each other and other medical agencies using universal terminology. It is also engaging with the Department of Health to make sure that the UK’s SAR medical assets are recognised and that they are tasked appropriately – and that others are not tasked inappropriately.
CFOA
HMCG
Royal Navy SAR Photo: RNLI/Colin Watson
For more details on the work of the UK SAR Operators Medical Group, contact sarresponse@mca.gov.uk.
ALSAR RAF SAR Photo: RNLI/Aberystwyth
ACPO
British Cave Rescue Council
Mountain Rescue England and Wales
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e-learning pioneer FTV Limited relaunches fire safety training program FTV Limited has been producing fire related training programmes since 1988. These programmes are intended to assist companies and organisations comply with their obligation to instruct staff in the importance of fire safety. Since the early days of FTV the company has seen some significant changes in how it produces its training programmes. In 2000 the company began producing its programmes on DVD as well as VHS and, in an incredibly short space of time, VHS became obsolete. From a production perspective VHS was far from ideal; the picture and sound quality never quite looked as good as the original edit, the equipment needed to play them was cumbersome and heavy and, of course, tapes were chewed by the players! On the other hand DVDs are digital so the picture and sound quality are infinitely superior, the disks are small and, if looked after, they are relatively robust. All you need is a laptop and a projector and you're training! Interactive platforms With today’s ‘want it now’ culture more and more companies and organisations are moving away from traditional classroom training, to more interactive and media rich learning platforms. In fact almost anyone can now complete all manner of training courses without leaving their desk! This is a concept that FTV pioneered back in 1995 when it launched its first computer based training programme, ‘Dealing with Fire’. Unfortunately the world wasn’t quite ready; compared to today the internet was in its infancy and FTV had to build computers to run it which meant that it was not a cost effective training solution and was put on the back burner. However, 15 years later the internet has grown up, almost everyone has a PC and we think nothing of using the internet to communicate, bank and shop. So, FTV dusted off the 1995 'Dealing with Fire', rewrote the script and set to work producing e-learning programs, based on its
popular fire training DVD programmes. ‘Dealing with Fire’ is FTV’s interactive multi media e-learning program which has been produced to ensure that all staff, irrespective of position, shift patterns or location can receive the same quality of training without leaving their workplace. The program includes two core modules; the first covers the procedures to be followed ‘in the event of fire’, while the second covers the use of the ‘portable fire extinguishers’ that staff will come across around their workplace.
‘Dealing with Fire’ is FTV’s interactive multi media e-learning program. ‘Dealing with Fire’ is a media rich program which includes narration, text, images, video and animation, which makes fire training a totally interactive experience. One of the key advantages of this style of learning is that the user learns at their own pace and can review sections as desired. Other advantages include: reduced overall cost (costs associated with traditional training such as instructors’ salaries, booking meeting rooms, travelling expenses, accommodation and meals are eliminated); employees are away from their job for shorter periods; learning times are reduced, by an average of 40 to 60 percent; increased retention by 25 percent over traditional methods of training; and proof of completion and certification, essential elements of
training, are automated via a Learning Management System (LMS). Once the sections have been completed, the user will be able to take the fire safety quiz. This comprises 10 multiple choice questions. The questions are drawn from a ‘question pool’ of 50 questions, which the program selects randomly, so each user will see a different set of questions and the order in which the questions appear will also change each time. At the end of the quiz the user will have the opportunity to print a certificate which shows their name, the date and their score. The program is integrated with a powerful LMS (Learning Management System) which tracks the user’s progress through the training as well as recording their scores in the quiz. This information can be accessed by managers via a management console, which allows them to monitor training progress of all employees. Technology has moved on Andrew Harvey, Sales Director for Fire Training Videos Limited, says, “Technology has moved on so quickly over the last 10 years that we are now able to deliver very high quality training material to a much wider audience than ever before. Undoubtedly the internet has also had a big part to play in all this and offers an exciting and diverse way of communicating a consistent fire safety message to staff, irrespective of their location.” Demonstration modules from ‘Dealing with Fire’ can be accessed by visiting FTV’s website (www.firetrainingvideos.com) and selecting the e-learning tab. Reader Reply No.110
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Improving police services through innovation While other police forces are looking to cut staff to cope with ever tightening budgets, one has taken the bold step of entering a shared services agreement with local councils and IBM. Avon and Somerset Police became a founding member of Southwest One because, in the words of Colin Port, Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police, “It is imperative that we deliver services that represent value for money for council tax payers locally. This joint venture gives us the chance to reinvest in frontline policing and secure the employment of our dedicated police staff.” Avon and Somerset are working alongside the other founding members – Somerset County Council, Taunton Deane Borough Council and IBM – to create a step change in public service delivery. The services provided through Southwest One are finance, human resources, information technology, estates, facilities management and strategic procurement as well as police enquiry offices. Southwest One also provides the payroll service to the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. In 2008 600 police staff were seconded to Southwest One, retaining their employment with the constabulary but coming under the management of Southwest One.
was backed up with a costed implementation plan and business case. By combining this project with another custody project, the police have now approached the Home Office under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). This is the first PFI project undertaken by Avon and Somerset Police, and the most ambitious police PFI project in the UK to date.
Colin Port, Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police.
Shared service capability The objective of Southwest One is to create a multi agency shared service capability. Across the 10 year deal, the police will see current services provided at reduced cost and, through the use of technology and innovation, will benefit from a significant enhancement in the quality of these services. This will improve frontline capabilities by releasing officers’ time to focus on their work in the community. One of the earliest transformation projects delivered by Southwest One involved developing an accommodation strategy for the police. A vision for the police estate was developed which supported key business priorities, for example, radical overhaul of custody provision and more efficient and flexible office accommodation. Crucially, this vision
The joint venture includes a framework agreement that allows other public sector bodies to acquire similar services from Southwest One. In December 2009 Chief Constable Colin Port, Chair of Avon and Somerset Police Authority Dr Moira Hamlin and IBM Global Business Services Executive Simon Humberstone were invited to address a Home Affairs Select Committee on police service strength. The enquiry was looking at claims that some chief constables would have to cut frontline services in order to meet the Home Office budget. Dr Hamlin said, “Each year we receive nearly £12m less from the Government than we are assessed to need. This means we have to think of
new ways to deliver the best possible police service we can within the limited resources available.” The Select Committee heard that the Southwest One partnership presented a unique opportunity to modernise services, achieve savings and protect frontline services. Savings generated It is estimated that the partnership will generate savings in the region of £35m over 10 years. Mr Port gave the Select Committee another example of how the Southwest One partnership was benefiting the local community. He said, “We have about 1000 problematic offenders in the city of Bristol, and set up an integrated offender management unit which is managing 400 of them but will ultimately manage 1000. “The long term strategy is to give these people their lives back so that they are no longer problematic criminals, they are actually meaningful members of society. The only way I can do it is by freeing up resources from other areas of policing. What Southwest One has allowed me to do is to fund that.” Growth vision The growth vision for Southwest One is to create a shared services vehicle that will demonstrate significant efficiency and cashable savings for each partner and become a centre of excellence for the South West region. To enable this, the joint venture includes a framework agreement that allows other public sector bodies to acquire similar services from Southwest One. It is the first time any UK police service has joined such a joint venture and part of the strategy is to continue to explore wider options and drive out efficiencies without losing valued employees. “This is a great opportunity for us to change, improve and transform policing,” said Colin Port. www.southwestone.org
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Emergency Services Sector Procurement Group – working together to get better fleet deals Discretely working away within the emergency services are groups of people intent on providing equipment and services that fully support all operational aspects of the emergency services; from back room to frontline. Over a period of time similarities in demand and cross services cooperation began to emerge, leading to where the total cost of ownership and benefit is shared among all through increased levels of participation and collaboration – a win/win situation for all. alone – translating into improved quality for the same price, or more of the same for a lower price.
The Emergency Services Sector Procurement Group (ESSPG) was established in 2009 to build on existing activities. This group comprises representatives from Firebuy, Metropolitan Police, National Police Improvement Authority (NPIA), National Association of Police Fleet Managers, NHS ambulance trusts, Transport Officer Group representing the fire and rescue services and supported by Buying Solutions and Office of Government Commerce (OGC). The group has both operational and procurement representation. OGC’s role is to: • Help and provide assistance to existing fleet expertise to develop a platform for fleet practitioners to foster knowledge sharing through intelligence gathered centrally from across the wider public sector • Map out the procurement landscape in fleet • Jointly identify, at a strategic level, where the combined leverage of the public sector will deliver value for money savings. Recent research on behalf of OGC values the total public sector fleet market at approximately £1.8 billion. The emergency services fleet is estimated to be worth £306m or 17% of this figure. What does ESSPG hope to achieve through collaborative procurement? At a top level, working together we can free up public sector funds to be redeployed to critical frontline services. As an example, the current NPIA vehicle purchase framework is accessible to all emergency services; over 700 vehicles from a total of approximately 8000 were purchased by other services realising savings of around £3m in 2008/9. Anecdotally, the police authorities themselves saved £33m from this collaborative framework in the same period.
Consultation and collaboration The ESSPG acts as a conduit between the sectors they represent, where they have a voice and an opportunity to openly express and bring to the table issues that directly affect fleet operational requirements and procurement strategies, to ensure any collaborative outcome delivers the needs of their service. The group also engages and encourages feedback across member organisation networks, discussing and increasing awareness of what they are achieving and hope to achieve through collaboration. The core remit of this group is to identify, through shared information: where potential common requirements exist; that are specific to emergency services; are of high value; and will benefit from working together to produce collaborative agreements that deliver value for money. An example is the conversion/body build contracts, where standard off line chassis and production models are taken and used as base vehicles to which additions and enhancements are applied to meet the operational requirements of the services. Where non-core or generic public sector requirements are identified, such as daily car hire, ESSPG will use existing collaborative Pan-Government framework agreements; the latest generation framework awarded by Buying Solutions was let in collaboration with various stakeholder groups. This agreement can be implemented effectively and quickly. This approach has a two fold benefit. Firstly, it enables the ESSPG to concentrate its resources and efforts on service specific requirements. Secondly, combining the negotiating power of several departments (authorities) gives economies of scale and more leverage than any one organisation standing
Recent research on behalf of OGC values the total public sector fleet market at approximately £1.8 billion. The emergency services fleet is estimated to be worth £306m or 17% of this figure. In addition to advantages in costs, major benefits from framework agreements, whether enabled for exclusive use across emergency services or wider public sector, are: • Range – collaborative frameworks offer products and services which may not be available through locally sourced agreements. For example, PanGovernment vehicle purchase frameworks include many suppliers and vehicle types which can be used to source base vehicles for subsequent conversion. • Productivity/legal compliance – time and cost to research the market, prepare, run and evaluate a tender should not be underestimated. This is valuable time that could be spent on other more value added activities. National Audit Office report released in 2006 quotes £65,000 as the cost to let a contract under European Union procurement rules. • Currently across the wider public sector PanGovernment framework agreements exist for core demands of fleet management, vehicle purchase, vehicle leasing, glass, tyres and vehicle hire. www.ogc.gov.uk/contractsdatabase
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Author: Mark Pinheiro, Commercial Delivery Manager – Fleet, Office of Government Commerce (OGC)
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Workwear and Corporate Clothing 2010
Emergency services managers are under increasing pressure, from both central government and local authorities, to pare costs yet maintain performance levels. This is particularly true in workwear where the trend towards rationalisation of uniforms, PPE and workwear has been prevalent in fire and rescue services for the past couple of years. The 43 police forces operating in England and Wales have been instructed to pool resources to save £545m, about 5% of their total income, by 2014. Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, said in a recent interview, “Police forces are collaborating to find ways to jointly procure – whether that's on uniforms, whether that's on cars, whether that's on air support services. There are always opportunities to do more.” With a major reduction in public expenditure on the cards for the next few years, similar budgetary constraints are likely to be imposed on other emergency services. This makes a visit to the Workwear and Corporate Clothing Show 2010 at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry from
13–14 April an essential diary date for those involved in procuring emergency services clothing. The workwear and protective clothing market in the UK alone is worth over £450m a year, with around one in three workers wearing some form of protective, work or corporate clothing. An understanding of what is available in the market – from new flame retardant fabrics and high visibility garments to stab resistant clothing, wickable fibres and anti microbial shirts – is essential for anyone who will be involved in joint purchasing decisions according to Yvette Ashby, the show’s co-founder. She said, “We’re seeing a number of emerging trends in clothing for emergency services personnel. Firstly, there’s a return to traditional colours in clothing for emergency services personnel. In the past, we saw a lot of light blues and greys as part of uniforms, but manufacturers and designers are reporting a resurgence of interest in navy, black and white. The trend towards rationalisation of uniform garments is the driver behind this, I think.”
Paul Gibbons, of William Sugden and Sons, who have been producing uniforms for over a hundred years, said, “Because emergency service workers often work long anti social hours and in safety critical situations – from paramedics to the coastguard, from the police to the fire services – comfort, durability and performance are all of vital importance in workwear and this can’t be sacrificed for a short term saving. There will be a lot of new launches at the show, and many of the exhibitors will be sending models down the show’s catwalk, so visitors get an idea of the clothing in action.” Confirmed exhibitors Confirmed exhibitors and sponsors include JAL Group, INVISTA, Dickies, Lion Apparel, Alexandra Workwear, Apt, ASEO, Buffera, CAT boots and apparel, Crocs, Dimensions Workwear, F Engel -– Workzone Workwear, Van Dal footwear, Kingfisher Leisurewear, Lauffenmuhle workwear textiles, Polymark, Premiere Workwear, Shandar Sporting Goods, Thomas Fattorini, E Sutton and Son footwear, Syscom, William Sugden and a party of Tunisian manufacturers organised by CEPEX.
Events Diary 2010 LGA Fire & Rescue Conference 9–10 March Manchester Implementing COMAH – SIESO/HSE 9–10 March Manchester Conference Centre Firex South 16–17 March Sandown Exhibition Centre HOSDB Exhibition 2010 16–18 March Farnborough, Hampshire Mass Fatalities 16 March Commonwealth Club, London Workwear & Corporate Clothing Show 2010 13–14 April Ricoh Arena, Coventry Counter Terror Expo 2010 14–15 April National Hall, Olympia Life Connections 16–17 April Kettering Conference Centre
The show is held in parallel with WorkIt! 2010 – a one day conference covering regulations, trends, innovation and protection in workwear and corporate clothing.
BAPCO 2010 20–22 April Business Design Centre, Islington, London
www.workwearshow.co.uk
The Emergency Services Show welcomes record numbers Some 4000 visitors attended the fourth Emergency Services Show which took place from 24–25 November 2009 at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire. Three hundred and fifty exhibitors were attracted to the leading industry event, which has been designed to encourage multi agency cooperation by uniquely bringing together all relevant organisations and equipment suppliers and manufacturers to promote effective collaboration. The free to attend exhibition was supported by the Home Office and Highways Agency and showcased new and innovative technologies, most poignantly, equipment and organisations who had just returned from assisting with rescue efforts following the severe flooding in Cumbria. The large outside space allowed
access for the latest vehicles, command units and demonstrations including a ‘Hummer’ in UK police livery from VT Group and Avon Fire and Rescue Service who demonstrated its hovercraft used to help people trapped on mud flats and during inland flooding. During the show the ‘999’ Help for Heroes pin badge was launched. Designed to be worn on emergency services uniforms, the badge declares the support for the national Help for Heroes charity, which raises money to support the men and women who return wounded from active service. A total of £2154.28 has already been raised from the sale of the special badges and all proceeds go straight to Help for Heroes. The show’s main conference ‘Plan-
ning, Response and Recovery’ was sponsored by British Red Cross and was attended by over 100 decision makers who, with a variety of expert speakers, came together to explore current strategic thinking and past, present and future challenges in emergency response. David Brown, Director of Emergency Services (MMC) Ltd, organiser of The Emergency Services Show, commented, “This year really was the best yet and we have received fantastic feedback from both visitors and exhibitors. It was great to see so many people learning from each other and discussing new initiatives. “The networking opportunities presented by the event were an invaluable way to develop inter agency collaborations, initiatives and strategies
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and we are looking forward to seeing the positive results this yields in all future operations. We are already thinking about this year’s event which will be held on the same dates, 24–25 November 2010.” www.ess2010.com
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COMAH workshop Implementing COMAH, the 16th joint SIESO/HSE workshop, takes place from 9–10 March 2010 at the Manchester Conference Centre. The workshop will be of particular interest to all top tier COMAH site operators, local authority emergency planners, the emergency services and operators of all chemical sites. The proposed changes to the COMAH administration which the HSE will be introducing in April 2010, together with the transfer of responsibility for issuing Special Premises Fire Certificates to the local fire and rescue authority, will mean that all COMAH sites will need to assess their impact. Will they have to update their safety management systems and possibly review their safety plans? The main aim of the conference will be to acquaint delegates with these changes and to provide them with the opportunity, via the workshop, to feedback to the regulator how the changes will impact on the real world. Local authorities, the blue light services and COMAH sites are all concerned at the difficulties they encounter in accommodating the diverse requests to provide assistance in exercising emergency plans. As this is a requirement of the regulations, the conference will hear the latest thinking on this topic by drawing on the experience of the way in which the major COMAH counties have tackled the problem. Might it be possible to develop a nationwide procedure that would be acceptable to all? Delegates will also hear of the latest EU thinking on matters that are relevant to their activities and, while societal risk could form the basis of a conference in its own right, there will be at least one session where the HSE will inform delegates of the current situation. Costs for the workshop, including some meals and one night’s accommodation at Days Hotel are: SIESO Member – £265; ICPEM Member – £295; Non-Member – £320. Each delegate must complete a separate application form which can be downloaded from the Events section of the SIESO website (www.sieso.org.uk). It should be forwarded with a cheque payable to ‘SIESO’ to the Membership Secretary: Chris Pilgrim, 7 Hardbarrow Woods, High Bar Lane, Thakeham, Pulborough, West Sussex RH20 3ES – Tel: 01798 812922 or e-mail: siesomem@googlemail.com. www.sieso.org.uk
SAR 2010 The future of search and rescue operations is to come under the spotlight at Shephard’s SAR 2010 conference, being held in Aberdeen from 21–22 April. This year’s event will focus on the rapid advances technology has brought with it the convergence of search and rescue operations in many developed nations over the past decade. Developing nations too are learning lessons quickly from those who already have the sophisticated tools for all terrain SAR. It is becoming clear that the ‘search’ element of search and rescue is reducing through the impact of location and communications technology and that there is more emphasis being placed on the means of rescue. Helicopters with greater speed and endurance and high speed rescue craft enhance the modern SAR armoury. In the offshore industry in particular there have been significant developments with the introduction of their own SAR fleets either acting independently or supporting the nation’s SAR services. Tackling fires at sea is also developing with specialised Marine Incident Response Groups (MIRGs) being established. Both these aspects will be included in SAR 2010. The important area of ‘Human Factors’ will be tackled at SAR 2010 with
prominent psychologists in the fields of survival and cold water shock and the psychology of the journalist from an experienced SAR press man. The use of simulation for training is becoming more common and the maritime world is beginning to mirror what has happened in aviation. There have been significant developments in FRC simulation and for the offshore industry developments in davit and free fall lifeboat simulation – these will be introduced into SAR 2010. In the military world there have been improvements too in combat SAR with the increased use of unmanned vehicles for surveillance and detection both on land and in the air. There have been development programmes introducing new aircraft and vessels within military regimes. SAR 2010 will look at developments in this field. There will also be presentations on real life combat SAR missions All this and more will be presented and exhibited at SAR 2010 where delegates will have the opportunity to discuss many important SAR issues. There will also be ample opportunity for delegates to explore the exhibition and to see and experience new hardware and software first hand. www.shephard.co.uk/events
INTERSCHUTZ 2010 From 7–12 June 2010, Leipzig, Germany, will be the place to be for anyone involved in the rescue and civil security services. The Leipzig Exhibition Center will be hosting INTERSCHUTZ 2010, the international trade fair for everything the global market has to offer for the rescue, fire prevention, disaster relief, safety and civil security sectors. Organised by Deutsche Messe, Hannover, and the German Fire Protection Association (GFPA), the fair will occupy five of the venue’s exhibition halls and its open air site, and is expected to attract more than 100,000 visitors. It will be co-located with the 28th German Firefighting Convention. INTERSCHUTZ 2010 is still several months away, but with 1020 exhibitors from 43 nations registered so far, it is already enjoying strong international support. The top exhibitor nation is Germany, with 545 exhibitors registered so far, followed by China,
the USA, Italy and the UK. In addition, the exhibition will for the first time feature exhibitors from Australia, Hong Kong and Peru.
Live demonstrations The demonstration grounds can seat 3000 and they will be filled to capacity when the disaster and emergency rescue demonstrations take place. Located on the open air site in the north east section of the exhibition centre, the grounds will host spectacular shows and live displays every day of the fair from 10:00am to 5:30pm. The highlights will include fire fighting and fire protection demonstrations and simulated rescue operations. Reader Reply No.
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Events Diary 2010 continued SAR 2010 21–22 April Aberdeen Exhibition Centre, Aberdeen 2010 International Trauma Care Conference 10–14 May Park Inn, Telford Safety & Health Expo 2010 12–14 May NEC, Birmingham Inner Corden 10–11 June Liverpool Interschutz 2010 7–12 June Germany Sea Work 2010 15–17 June Southampton Emergency Planning Society 2010 21–23 June SECC, Glasgow Fire & Rescue 2010 29–30 June Hall M, Harrogate International Centre ACPO 2010 29 June – 1 July Manchester Central NAPFM 2010 7–8 September Cheltenham Racecourse Learning from Each Other: Civilian and Military Emergency Care 13–15 September International Convention Centre, Birmingham Risk & Resilience Expo 22–23 September Business Centre, Olympia, London Firex North 27–28 October Manchester Central The Emergency Services Show 2010 24–25 November Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire
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Wireless bodyworn camera
agencies that have purchased the vests have become among the first to offer a specially designed vest for women as well as men with hard armour protection to the side of the body. The vests also include the companies’ logos for easy identification. www.aegis-eng.com
Oxygen cylinder 802 Global has launched its Samix Camera System, an innovative wireless bodyworn camera and receiver designed to be used by first responder personnel. The system is capable of delivering real time video across an incident ground, including to the incident command unit, even in non line of sight environments. The camera system comprises two elements, the COFDM Video Transmitter (CVT) and the COFDM Video Receiver (CVR) unit. Images can be relayed from the CVT directly to a CVR unit where they can be viewed by other responder personnel such as sector commanders. Images can also be sent via radio mesh to the incident command unit. In turn, images can be further distributed using satellite technology to remote locations such as headquarters or Gold Command. www.802global.com
Body armour
weatherproofed case of three or six light modules that also acts as a recharging unit. This can be run from a wide range of light to heavy duty vehicles (10–36V) or from mains electricity. Electro Flare is completely charged in three hours and enables 10 hours of continuous use with a fully charged battery. www.meprolight.com
Flood rescue guidance
www.dupont.com
For frontline emergency medical services, BOC Healthcare’s revolutionary new oxygen cylinder offers an ultra lightweight and easy to use source of medical oxygen. Developed in cooperation with ambulance trusts, this one litre, 300bar cylinder weighs in at just 1.55kg at full capacity – the lightest cylinder package available. As well as having the best gas weight to duration ratio available on the market, the new BOC oxygen cylinder has the added benefits of lightweight integral valves, regulators and easy click settings. BOC worked closely with Luxfer Gas Cylinders to develop the ultra lightweight product which incorporates Luxfer’s Odyssey-L7X® cylinders. Easy to transport and manoeuvre, they are the ideal choice for emergency medical services and prehospital care. They can significantly reduce the risk of occupational strains and injuries associated with patient and equipment handling to crews working under pressure, particularly in confined or inaccessible spaces. www.boconline.co.uk
Bulletproof PPE Aegis has designed a body amour vest specifically to meet the needs of the humanitarian sector. Due to the vest’s adaptability, it is increasingly popular among many UN agencies and is quickly becoming the vest of choice for the humanitarian sector. Designed and manufactured by Aegis, the Body Armour Vest incorporates the renowned fibre Kevlar® XP™ made by DuPont and provides tactical, overt protection. The vest provides excellent ballistic protection but is also lightweight, comfortable, durable and does not restrict movement. The UN
such as the German Schutz Klasse and the UK HOSDB standard. This extension complements the existing DuPont Kevlar® XP™ S102. The new addition has added design flexibility to body armour and builds on the original Kevlar® XP™ S102 advantages of comfort and light weight. DuPont™ Kevlar® is an organic fibre offering an excellent combination of properties: it is lightweight, sturdy and fireproof, allowing protection and thermal resistance. Kevlar® is five times stronger than steel at equal weight. The unique architecture of Kevlar® XP™ features a patented woven fabric technology that allows for improved bullet stopping power, while maintaining comfort.
DuPont has introduced an extension of its Kevlar® XP™ product range. This innovation, based on the Kevlar® XP™ technology platform, offers protective solutions for specific end user requirements in addition to the USA NIJ (National Institute of Justice) standards,
LED flashing device
Meprolight has announced new features of its Electro Flare heavy duty LED flashing device. Originally designed for the specific needs of law enforcement agencies, Electro Flare can be used in virtually any emergency situation that calls for temporary marking as a safety precaution. Electro Flare’s trampling resistance has been enhanced, making it an ultra robust device that can withstand vehicle run overs. In addition, the light intensity has been greatly increased and the bright signal emitted from this rugged, lightweight and weather resistant unit is visible from long distances under all weather conditions – 1km on a clear night. The signal is emitted by 36 large and super bright LEDs flashing at once, replacing the smaller 48 LEDs in the previous version. Electro Flare is activated by turning it upside down and the signal can now be emitted at 90, 180, 360 degrees or top emission only. The user can employ a wide choice of colours and colour combinations (10 possibilities), to meet local regulations. Electro Flare emergency light modules are housed in a robust, fully
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The Stationery Office and AssetCo Integrated Services have launched a Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Guidance. Based on the pioneering techniques of Jim Segerstrom, the founder of swiftwater rescue, and anchored to the recommendations produced by the UK Chief Fire Officers’ Association (UK CFOA), this is the first comprehensive, UK based, training manual for water rescue. Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Guidance describes the key information to enable not only specialist teams but all emergency services and volunteer organisations to participate fully and safely in flooding incidents that may require rescue to save life. The manual covers key issues in swiftwater and flood rescue, incident information and guidance and a section on vocationally related qualifications for all individuals required to operate in flooding or swiftwater environments. The guidance provides a standardised approach to safely and efficiently dealing with incidents involving water. It is intended to provide a ‘start to finish’ approach to such incidents, with the exception of operations involving diving below the surface of the water for search and rescue. This will help organisations across the public and private sector to safely manage flood rescue operations, in line with recent UK legislation. www.tsoshop.co.uk
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Photoionisation detector Ion Science has introduced the new PhoCheck Tiger photoionisation detector (PID) for rapid, accurate detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A significant development in PID, the instrument's powerful software and performance features set new industry standards for hand held VOC detection. Its revolutionary PID technology provides a dynamic detection range of one part per billion (ppb) to 20,000 parts per million (ppm), offering the widest measurement range on the market. PhoCheck Tiger is preprogrammed with over 450 response factors and its advanced software features mean the instrument requires no complicated programming and set up procedures to perform both basic and advanced functions. PhoCheck Tiger can be connected directly to a PC via the USB offering extremely fast data download capabilities. Wireless data download via a Bluetooth interface is available as an option. It offers simple, one handed operation and its rugged design and protective, removable rubber boot withstand the harshest environments. www.ionscience.com
Lone worker protection
Romad has launched the first lone worker protection device to be truly compliant with the recently published British Standard 8484 code of practice. Utilising GPS based technology which interacts with leading alarm
receiving software or with Romad’s own hosted monitoring software platform, the RSP-100 equips employers to know exactly where their lone workers are whenever they need assistance. The Romad RSP-100’s small size and light weight (it weighs just 62.5g with the standard battery attached) means it can be worn on a lanyard or clipped to a belt. Simple over the air commands are used to configure the device, providing four preprogrammable speed dial numbers and a rugged SOS alert button. One of the pre-allocated speed dial numbers, for example, allows lone workers to leave a recorded message when they arrive at an appointment. This message is safely stored on the Romad server and can be quickly retrieved if the user is out of contact or if there is a welfare concern. www.romadltd.com
Bariatric trolley
Leading clinical and therapeutic treatment couch specialist Plinth 2000 has introduced an innovative bariatric trolley with a safe working load (SWL) of 320kg (50 stone), which is designed to reduce unnecessary patient handling and minimise the risk of client or carer injuries. Electrically powered for backrest and height elevation, with 90º drop divided legs, it can be used as a recovery trolley, wheelchair or treatment couch, while the generous 80cm (31in) wide seat and pressure relieving memory foam will comfortably accommodate the largest patient. Its inherent versatility, robust structure, heavy duty retractable castors and 40% increase over the standard SWL, make Plinth 2000’s latest bariatric trolley perfect for handling extremely heavy clients, moving them safely and comfortably from admissions department, bed or procedure table, with minimum transfers. A powerful electric motor, with 10,000N lift capacity, provides height adjustment up to 100cm (39in) and motorised backrest positioning from 0–80 degrees, both operated by a handset or optional foot pedal. www.plinth2000.com
Submergible pump
ideal for anyone working outdoors keeping them warm, dry and comfortable at all times, especially people in industrial, emergency services, security, utility, council, airport, postal and corporate markets. The majority of products are made with unique SealSkinz patented technology, which works via a seamless three layer construction – an outer, a waterproof highly breathable membrane, plus an inner lining. www.sealskinz.com
Rosenbauer has started 2010 with the market launch of the Nautilus submergible pump, which constitutes a completely new development. The submergible pump is a piece of core equipment in any fire and rescue service and is employed to pump out flooded cellars, wells and drainage shafts, as well as for the water supply of pumper trucks. Such pumps must be easy to handle and light, and should also be capable of providing suction that creates the flattest possible results. The Rosenbauer designers have now combined all these advantages in the innovative Nautilus. With a gross weight of just 30kg, the Nautilus is the lightest submergible pump in its class. Moreover, two ergonomically shaped handles ensure that the pump can be carried in equal comfort by one person, or two. The pump is ideally suited to deep suction and following pumping out at full power, a minimal water volume of just 8mm remains. A deep suction unit is fully integrated into the pump, which makes the removal of the suction grille, or the mounting of an additional device unnecessary. www.rosenbauer.com
Duty range
Leading outdoor accessories manufacturer SealSkinz has introduced its revolutionary waterproof technology to the industrial, emergency service and corporate clothing markets, with the launch of the new SealSkinz Duty Range of socks, gloves and hats. Sold under the tagline ‘Protection in the Elements’ the range has been created to cater for ever wetter and colder UK winters. Each product is specially designed to offer the ultimate in waterproof, breathable, windproof and hard wearing protection. They are
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Air sampling method
The Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) has come up with a new technique for the investigation of major fires and chemical releases which could dramatically improve safety, increase speed of response and decrease cost. Following tests at its Buxton headquarters, the laboratory has developed and validated an innovative high altitude air sampling technique, using an unmanned microdrone. If adopted, this alternative could be of direct benefit to members of the emergency services, government agencies and even the military. The microdrone, which is available from Stoke based MW Power Systems Ltd, was originally designed as a low cost means of taking aerial photographs. Following extensive testing, the prototype, which resembles a miniature helicopter, has been fitted with bespoke sampling equipment. This equipment allows it to test the concentration and dispersal of air particles while flying through a smoke plume or over a major chemical incident. HSL has now signed a deal, licensing the new technology to MW Power for sale commercially, with the laboratory providing bespoke training or consultancy services for customers. The current unmanned microdrone pioneered has a range of 500m and can fly up to height of 400ft, enabling scientists to collect samples from previously difficult to access locations such as dense smoke plumes and areas of intense toxicity. www.mwpower.co.uk
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Climate control
Webasto has launched simple to operate, easy to install and economic car style interior temperature control for emergency ambulance, patient transfer, luxury minibus, midibus and custodial vehicle operators. The new Webasto system comprises a smart LCD screen display/control panel, a compact and fully integrated electronic control unit and an externally mounted air temperature sensor. These units combine the output of Webasto’s current range of Air Top supplementary diesel heaters with either their aftermarket split air or roof mount air conditioning units to provide totally automatic temperature control, with seamless switching between hot and cold. Unique benefits include: the specified requirement of many ambulance authorities to have timed duration of heating is achieved by an inbuilt facility which enables heat to be maintained for set periods, without running the engine; a special modulated function of the air heater enables heat settings to be automatically maintained, saving fuel and power; by fitting an additional timer any vehicle can be automatically preheated, prior to patients or passengers boarding; and the lack of external relays allows true ‘plug’n’play’ installation. www.webasto.co.uk
detect up to four gases at once, the T3 is designed for use in the most demanding industrial environments, including confined space work. It features intuitive, single button operation, essential for users with gloved hands. To coincide with the expanded T3 gas sensor range, Crowcon has also launched a new ‘universal charger’, developed in response to the market need for reliable vehicle charging of detectors used by service and maintenance crews in the field. This latest addition supports the T3 in a mountable cradle, offering a quick and easy storage solution as well as dependable charging with status indication. www.crowcon.com
Battery meter
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ry protective equipment (RPE) system combines the company’s FM53™ mask with innovative modular breathing apparatus technology to provide positive pressure SCBA and/or PAPR capability. Depending on the threat or operational circumstances at the scene of an incident, ST53™ can be configured to provide the ideal protection mode. Seamless transition between filter (APR) protection (negative pressure filtering) and SCBA protection (positive pressure supplied air) ensures operatives can maximise their time on scene, while ensuring that the very highest levels of protection are available. The ST53™ system is available with a wide variety of accessories including a light and compact air cylinder that can be efficiently carried on the waist. This provides the user with the versatility to meet a variety of evolving operational challenges with complete confidence.
Gas detection specialist Crowcon has expanded the capabilities of its Tetra:3 (T3) personal multi gas detector with three more toxic gas sensors: ozone (O3), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ammonia (NH3). This complements the existing sensor range which includes flammable gases, oxygen (O2), hydrogen sulphide (H2S), and carbon monoxide (CO). Featuring a top mount display and the capacity to
www.excelerate.info
Fleet management
www.avon-protection.com
Positive pressure BA The new Auto Charge Status Center, introduced by Kussmaul Electronics Co Inc, based in West Sayville, New York, is a universal indicator that reads battery voltage and the condition of the battery via LEDs. In addition to the LED status indicators, a three digit indicator displays the battery voltage. The unit is designed to be mounted on the outside of a vehicle so as to readily indicate the battery condition. The indicator fits Kussmaul standard indicator panel cut outs and comes with a three year warranty. www.kussmaul.com
Multi gas detector
ly formulated hood or cowl material applied to the facemask to provide CBRN resistance, flame retardancy and certification to EN136 Class 3 for Fire Fighting. It also includes the self tensioning head harness while delivering a much higher protection factor performance, particularly for use by operational personnel with facial hair. Excelerate is also providing a short duration, compact unit for CBRN tactical forces and counter terrorist operations that instantly activates on removal from the carry bag and automatically inflates the head harness to protect personnel for up to 20 minutes.
Respiratory solutions
Avon Protection’s revolutionary ST53™ multi role modular respirato-
Excelerate Technology has announced the immediate availability of FASTmask®, a new positive pressure breathing apparatus. FAST-mask® has an automatically inflating head harness that enables it to be safely donned and fully operational within just three seconds providing immediate protection in a wide range of HAZMAT and CBRN applications. The silicone mask automatically tensions to form a positive pressure seal without having to adjust any harness straps or buckles and switches the demand valve regulator to positive pressure helping to purge the facemask of any trace of hazardous gas. The company will be providing additional versions including FAST-cowl®, which features a special-
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RSG has joined forces with Road Angel Fleet to present a cost effective web based fleet management system. Road Angel – Live Track vehicle tracking system is a low cost system that provides internet accessible journey reporting with no subscription charges. It is a comprehensive mileage management system delivering vehicle usage reports in real time with event based reporting based on user defined alerts. Live Track is able to locate a vehicle’s current position at the touch of a button, using live online tracking (refreshed every 60 seconds) and continuous real time vehicle status reports. In addition to this it has the functionality to monitor fleets and individual vehicles. Live Track is an invaluable tool for clients who need to dynamically schedule or divert drivers to new calls, enhance customer service with an accurate forecast of arrival time, track high value loads or protect VIPs. System benefits include: ultra compact unit; robust IP rated housing; real time asset management; quick and easy installation; high quality mapping and aerial views; market leading GPS/GSM technology; AES5 certified for use by emergency services; and Thatcham and National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA)
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The show you REALLY don’t want to miss! Visit us at www.ess2010.com
E m e r g e n c y S e r v i c e s T i m e s Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 0
102 | PRODUCT INFORMATION approved system. RSG and Road Angel Fleet are working together on a variety of exciting vehicle and asset tracking systems which are close to completion and will be launched in the near future. www.rsg-ontop.com
Business continuity software
emergency services and military organisations worldwide. Lion Connects (www.lionconnects.com) is an interactive social media community published by Lion Apparel that is dedicated to helping the fire and rescue service, law enforcement and first responder communities perform better, be safer and stay healthier. Lion has always been at the forefront of product development. Now it wants to build on that leadership by building a community of first responders and offering them timely, relevant and targeted information that directly addresses their priority personal concerns – health, safety and performance in the line of duty. www.lionconnects.com
RISCAuthority has launched ROBUST (Resilient Business Software Toolkit) to help the SME market produce effective Business Continuity Plans quickly and efficiently and manage incidents to recovery in a timely fashion. The software is available in complete form entirely free from the launch site (https://robust.riscauthority.co.uk) together with all supporting documentation and a significant portion of relevant parts of the prestigious RISCAuthority library. The aim of the ROBUST initiative is to produce a software package and distribution process that will encourage the uptake of business continuity measures in principally the SME commercial sector that currently give little or no time to protecting the resilience of their business. It is the intention that using the ROBUST tool will assist in business continuity management being engrained within day to day company procedures.
Remote area lighting
www.riscauthority.co.uk
First responders website
Lion Apparel, the world’s largest supplier of firefighter protective clothing, serves the uniform and personal protective equipment (PPE) and logistics requirements of police and fire departments, civilian government agencies,
Peli’s remote area lighting products (RALS) provide solutions for situations which demand mobile emergency lighting, even in the harshest of environments. Ideal for rapid response, Peli RALS units can be fully operational in seconds and offer instant, bright light with silent operation. Since their launch at HOSDB 2008, these rugged units have been used in disaster training scenarios, to illuminate extrication and also in command and control units where the RALS burn time of approximately 14 hours ensured that the area was fully lit for the duration of the night exercise. The 9430 RALS is a compact, self contained, portable unit weighing less than 10kg. It is ideal for a wide range of applications, including forensic investigations, road traffic accidents and isolated locations where mains power may not be available. The larger RALS units combine
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Peli’s innovative lighting technology and the rugged dependability of Peli cases. These self contained systems are housed within a wheeled Peli Protector Case for easy transport and protection. They offer a choice of up to four heads to illuminate the required area. All Peli’s remote area lighting systems use the latest LED technology and are powered by a rechargeable, efficient battery. With silent operation, no trailing wires to cause a trip hazard and no breakable glass components, the RALS are ideal for police requirements. www.peliproducts.co.uk
Lewis Pelvic Applicator
Pelvic fractures are one of many potentially life threatening injuries commonly associated with trauma patients which, if poorly managed, can lead to severe and uncontrollable haemorrhage and even death due to prolonged shock and multiple organ failure. This type of fracture should always be suspected in casualties who have sustained high impact injuries. Having the right equipment to hand, whether you are dealing with first aid or roadside critical care, can save vital seconds and may make all the difference in life threatening situations. In just this situation, the Lewis Pelvic Applicator comes into its own, ensuring safe, fast and correct application of pelvic immobilisers such as the SAM Sling, facilitating effective stabilisation of the suspected or indicated pelvic fracture. Unique to SP Services, the patented applicator has the following benefits: simple to use; compatible with many types of pelvic support; can be applied by one person; may be used on all surfaces with minimum friction; facilitates effective, correctly positioned pelvic support; used to safely apply a pelvic immobiliser in under 20 seconds; requires minimal movement of the casualty, so reducing pain and assisting internal haemorrhage control; lightweight, easy to carry and easy to store; durable with high strength to weight ratio; flexible enough to allow use on uneven surfaces; re-useable; and easily cleaned with standard medical detergents, up to 100°C. www.spservices.co.uk
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Battery powered hydraulics
Vimpex Ltd has been distributing the Ogura range of battery powered hydraulic cutting tools throughout Europe for 10 years. Now with 11 Official European dealers and a very active UK operation, Vimpex has successful carved a niche in a market which sees the Ogura tools in use by fire and rescue, police and military customers. The HRS Modular System is based around the powerful HRS Pump, which powers cutters, door openers, spreaders and bar cutters. The BC-300 Combi-Tool is a compact, powerful and portable battery powered tool with unique removable blade chips, which significantly reduce cost of ownership. The ORC Bar Cutters are the only battery powered 20mm bar cutters on the market. Several police customers in the UK now use the Ogura battery powered door opener for a controlled and less invasive door opening technique. Narrow blade tips and a hammer point at the rear of the tool means that even the smallest gaps can be developed to provide leverage. Using the same HRS Pump, the 10t cutter is being used to aid in casualty care during vehicle extrication. The compact tool is perfect for cutting through the seat mechanism where it is otherwise impossible to lower front seats for the purpose of spine management. Snipping the seat frame with the Ogura cutters allows firefighters and paramedics to effectively manage suspected spinal injuries, without the inconvenience and bulk of conventional hydraulics. Also using the HRS Pump, the Ogura Chain Cutter can slice through 100% HRC-60 chains and bars. This product is likely to prove very popular in the fire and rescue market where padlock and chain cutting is a common problem, often resulting in broken or damaged cutter blades.This year will also see the launch of a new door opener with 8in opening as well as a new Manual Combi-Tool. www.rescue-tools.co.uk
To feature your product in this section of the magazine e-mail davidholden@mmcpublications.co.uk
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VEHICLE MOUNTED BOILING WATER SYSTEM
MAKE IT EASY WITH
HOT PACK™ Cold, wet and dehydration can reduce performance and impair safety. By fitting a ‘TeaMate’ water boiler, crews can make themselves a cup of tea, coffee or other hot beverage to keep warm and hydrated, therefore maximising concentration and keeping fatigue to a minimum.
www.ess2010.com
Self-Heating Nutritious Meals
Register your interest today by phoning
In 12 minutes, you can create a delicious hot meal, with Hot Pack Self Heating Meals, anywhere you need it. Everything is in the pack to produce a satisfying hot meal without using any other equipment. Even cutlery and a dish are included!
David Brown or Carol Fox on 01273 453300 or email: davidbrown@mmcpublications.co.uk carolfox@mmcpublications.co.uk
Choose from seven great tasting, ready to eat recipes: Chicken Casserole, Lancashire Hot Pot, Chicken Dopiaza Curry, Sausages and Beans, Spicy Vegetable Rigatoni, Meatballs & Pasta and Vegetable Curry. Make it easy. Enjoy a HOT PACK™ meal – anywhere! Contact Canland UK Ltd, Wellington House, Lower Icknield Way, Longwick, Bucks HP27 9RZ Tel/Fax: 01844 344474 E.mail: info@hotpackmeals.co.uk Web site: www.hotpackmeals.co.uk
• Compact commercial grade throughout. • Self contained fully automatic. • 24v and 12v models available. • Makes up to 9 mugs per filling. WHISPAIRE LTD Email: info@whispaire.co.uk Web: www.whispaire.co.uk T: + 44 (0)1794 523999 F: + 44 (0)1794 519151
KNEE & ELBOW Protection
Paramedico Casual staff required for events – must hold First Aid at Work Certificate as minimum. EMT IHCD, Nurses, Paramedics, Doctors also required. Send for application form to allan@medcraft.org
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Comprehensive range to suit every application Ergonomic design G Comfortable and secure fit Reliable protection Tough and hard wearing Manufactured to the highest standards from selected quality materials CE marking throughout NATO Stock No: 22c 8415-99-8873869
Gotec Trading Limited Boulton Road Pin Green Stevenage Herts SG1 4QL Telephone 01438 740400 Fax 01438 740005
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Remploy breaks down employment barriers and wins Home Office PPE contract A company set up after the Second World War to provide employment for disabled ex-miners and injured service personnel has become a world leader in the manufacture of protection suits for the military and emergency response teams. Remploy, based in Leicester, was recently awarded a £15m contract by the Home Office to supply the police with swift responder suits which provide chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) protection. Remploy was established in April 1945 under the 1944 Disabled Persons (Employment) Act introduced by Ernest Bevin, the Minister for Labour. The company’s first factory opened in 1946 at Bridgend in South Wales making furniture and violins – today it supplies components to the automotive industry. Many of the original employees were disabled ex-miners but as the factory network grew during the late 1940s employment was provided for people with injuries returning from the Second World War. Massive expansion Originally named the Disabled Persons Employment Corporation, Remploy adopted its current name in 1946. The name was derived from the term ‘re-employ’. The company experienced a massive early growth and opened 92 factories in its first six years. But the recession of the late 1980s and the early 1990s took its toll on Remploy like much of British manufacturing and the factory network began to reduce. By the late 1990s, Remploy had 81 factories and employed 6500 people, but the world was changing and much of the work traditionally done by the company was moving to low labour cost economies in the Far East and eastern Europe.
Remploy workers outside its Burnley factory in 1951.
This year Remploy will support 10,000 people into mainstream employment Also attitudes to disability changed with a greater emphasis on inclusiveness and supporting people into mainstream employment where Remploy candidates worked alongside non-disabled colleagues. Recognising this, in 1988 the company established Interwork, a programme which supported disabled people into mainstream employment. This aspect of Remploy’s work became increasingly important and in 2006 Remploy Employment Services was created bringing together a range of services including a Wellbeing programme which supports employees and companies to maintain people in employment if they develop a disability or are injured. This year Remploy will support 10,000 people into mainstream employment working with more than 3000 organisations, including: BT, ASDA, Royal Mail, Marks & Spencer, the NHS, Sainsbury and local authorities. By 2012/13 the number of people found jobs by the company with other employers will rise to more than 20,000 every year.
Today the Burnley factory now does training as well as packaging.
Modernisation programme This growth in the recruitment side of the business required a reallocation of resources in the company with a transfer of funds from loss making and largely idle factories into supporting many thousands of people into jobs with other employers. In 2007, a modernisation programme was agreed with the Government which saw the number of factories reduced to 54. In those factories, Remploy Enterprise Businesses now operates furniture, automotive, electronics, healthcare, e-cycling and other businesses, with sales last year totalling £122m. It is a Non Departmental Public Body (NDPB) and as such receives a government grant of £111m a year over the five year period up to 2012/13. The company now has 5000 employees, 76 percent of whom are disabled and remains the country largest specialist employer of people with disabilities and health conditions. Remploy is the country’s largest supplier of
schools furniture and 30,000 schoolchildren in Angola, Rwanda and Sierra Leone learn using a PC that has been refurbished by the company. Remploy is a significant voice in the Welfare to Work arena and operates the Government’s Flexible New Deal programme for the long term unemployed in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. Almost 40 percent of the people Remploy supports into employment have a learning disability or mental health problems and it focuses on providing services for those who have the most complex barriers to employment – whether or not they have a disability – including ex-offenders, single parents and people recovering from addiction. www.remploy.co.uk
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Author: Alan Hill, Enterprises Businesses Director, Remploy
INTRAMARK INTRAMARK LTD
56 Windsor Street, Burbage, Leicestershire LE10 2EF
Tel: 01455 612400 Fax: 01455 612483 Email: enquiries@intramarkuk.com Website: intramarkuk.com