A National Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) resilience exercise is to be held in the UK over the next two days starting tomorrow morning. Exercise Orion is a national tactical exercise aimed to test the UK's response to a catastrophic earthquake that simultaneously hits several parts of the country. There are four simultaneous exercises taking place within Hampshire, Lincolnshire, Hertfordshire and Merseyside.
Merseyside will be a live continuous 36 hours exercise. The training exercises happening on the Wirral will focus on the disused branch of Birkenhead Tunnel which is situated on Rendel Street. Lots of activity, noise and smoke is expected from 9am, tomorrow (Tuesday 7th September). The local authority have informed local residents.
The impact on the local area will be:
* The arrival of fire appliances on site * Vehicles from other agencies to Marcus Street including Police and Ambulance * A helicopter is also expected to be in the surrounding area. The other main location for the exercise is at the Fire Service's Training and Development Academy in Croxteth. The exercise involves various organisations including the NHS. The command and control structures will be established at Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters in Bootle. For exercise purposes only, Aintree University Hospital is the acute hospital involved.
The exercises will be used as a vehicle for assessing at what point UK USAR resilience is depleted to such an extent, that EU resources would need to be requested. ========================== I think I am permitted to post this so as to keep you all informed katrina
Last edited by _jase_; 7th Sep 20104:49pm. Reason: RE-NAMED TOPIC
Yeah, they did this at the old tunnel entrance about 6 months ago, on a Saturday. Every mother n his dog was there, Bio units, Para medics, Chemical Response etc.
Emergency services respond to Liverpool 'earthquake' in national training exercise
MERSEYSIDE'S emergency services joined teams from across England today to take part in a major exercise simulating an earthquake hitting Liverpool.
The massive event, one of the largest to have been undertaken, is aimed at testing the response to an "unthinkable" disaster.
More than 200 fire crews and 100 representatives from the police, ambulance and army are taking part in the 48-hour Exercise Orion.
The ‘disaster’ has caused a 40-car pile-up in the partially collapsed Mersey Tunnel, with dozens feared dead.
And on Urban Street, at Merseyside Fire and Rescue’s Croxteth training base, crews are tackling fires and scouring collapsed buildings for casualties.
Five helicopters, including a Chinook, are deploying rescuers and aiding the evacuation of casualties. To provide realism, the casualties include staff, actors and volunteers from Amputees in Action.
A Merseyfire spokesman said: “This exercise is designed to test the response of emergency crews to a unlikely scenario that has a high level of impact.
“Exercise Orion is deliberately being organised to challenge all teams to the limit.”
Does anyone else think this could be a cover for something?
Ok, don't tell anyone, but there's a fella called Joe who agrees to clean the place up afterwards and gets the scrap value for all the cars, makes a bomb (or is that an earthquake?)
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