Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service joined emergency workers from across the country in a 36-hour training exercise to practise how they would respond to a major plane crash.
Firefighters from Avon, Hampshire, Devon & Somerset, Hereford & Worcester and Wales planned and facilitated the exercise for colleagues from London, Kent and Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Services as well as Cotswold Airport where the exercise was hosted.
Local ambulance and police colleagues also supported in the training exercise to ensure emergency services worked together effectively in the event of a real major incident.
The exercise, organised thanks to Cotswold Airport and Air Salvage International, aimed to replicate a number of scenarios involving multiple aircrafts colliding with one another as well as cars, minibuses and casualties to allow realistic training scenarios for some of the countries’ specialist Urban Search & Rescue (USAR) teams to test their skills and learn from one another.
Student Paramedics from the University of the West of England and actors from NiMSKi Ltd were also involved in the exercise, playing the part of casualties to provide realism for those involved in the training.
The aircraft used in the scenario belong to Air Salvage International, based at Cotswold Airport, who decommission and strip the jets of their parts for recycling.
