Exercise tests response to major emergency in the River Mersey
Emergency services and other
organisations are working together this morning (21 November) as part of an exercise
involving a scenario of an incident involving an aeroplane in the River Mersey.
The event involves the
Maritime & Coastguard Agency in the form of HM Coastguard, Merseyside Fire
& Rescue service, Liverpool Airport Rescue and Firefighting Service, North
West Ambulance Service and the RNLI.
In the scenario, the incident
at the River Mersey happens after the pilot has been taken ill while on the
approach to Liverpool’s John Lennon airport.
Emergency services are
quickly sent in response in a race to rescue the ten people on board. HM
Coastguard’s search and rescue helicopter will be involved in a winching
exercise from a Royal Navy ship.
The exercise will look at
how each organisation responds, how they work together and what lessons can be
learned.
Danny Jamson, senior coastal
operations officer for HM Coastguard (the search and rescue arm of the Maritime
& Coastguard Agency) said: ‘We’re training for the day we hope will never
come but we need to make sure that if the worst happens, we can operate search
and rescue in a way that will increase the chances of saving lives in an
emergency.’
Team
Leader Marine, Ian Kay, from Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, said: ‘This
is an incident we hope we’ll never see – but we must prepare for different
kinds of emergencies.
‘The
best way to test our response is to run a training exercise from which we can
learn. By taking part in this exercise, we can build experience and gather
knowledge which could be put to effective use in a real emergency response.
‘This
prepares Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service as an agency while giving us the
opportunity to work alongside partners, developing constructive ways of working
together.
‘Merseyside
Fire & Rescue Service plays an integral role in this type of incident
because of our ability to provide an immediate specialist response. Our
Marine Rescue Unit, Search and Rescue Team and Fire Crews provide 24/7 cover to
incidents both on the river and on land.’
Neil Gyllenship, Fire
Service Manager for Liverpool John Lennon Airport said: ‘Unlike most other UK
airports, Liverpool has the advantage of being located adjacent to a wide
estuary which helps to minimise the environmental and noise impacts of an
airport on local communities, however this can also bring challenges in the
event of an emergency situation.
‘A river response is already
incorporated into all our emergency procedures but an exercise like this is
invaluable in testing and improving upon those plans in place.’
Ian Thornton, Lifeboat
Operations Manager at New Brighton RNLI, said: ‘These kind of multi-agency
training scenarios provide our volunteer lifeboat crew members with a fantastic
opportunity to hone our skills in dealing with major incidents and working
closely with our emergency service colleagues to achieve the best outcome.’