A major road traffic collision was the focus of an emergency services exercise for Herfordshire’s first responders. Named Exercise Gridlock, representatives from Hertfordshire’s fire and rescue, ambulance and police services, alongside National Highways, carried out a rescue simulating a real-life incident at Longfield Training Centre in Stevenage.
The multi-agency exercise tested partners across the Hertfordshire Local Resilience Forum (HLRF) in how to respond to road traffic collisions involving multiple vehicles and multiple casualties.
Chief Fire Officer and Chair of the Hertfordshire Local Resilience Forum, Alex Woodman said:
“Readiness is key in the event of large scale-incidents like this. And this is why partners across our Local Resilience Forum are continually training together to prepare. These are well-tested partnerships, but we must remain agile to the different scenarios we might face, to best protect and serve our residents, so our work is never done.”
Eight-cars were involved in the mock crash, resulting in volunteers who acted as casualties having to be cut out of vehicles and taken away by paramedics. A section of the M1, between junctions 8 and 9 at Hemel Hempstead, was created at the training site for the scene.
The casualties came from the Community Protection Directory Volunteers, where people can volunteer to assist in different activities to help make our county safer. As well as role play in exercises, they can also assist in areas including youth engagement work, staffing stands at local evets, carrying out Anti Arson Patrols and promoting Home Fire Safety.
Adam Flowerdew, exercise lead and coordinator from emergency planning at National Highways, commented:
“Large-scale RTCs of this kind are fortunately not common. But the impacts can be far reaching – from the number of casualties to the logistics of releasing them from vehicles safely to the wider impact on our road networks.
“The stretch of motorway we chose to focus on can have significant impact to nearby Hemel Hempstead when an RTC occurs. It’s vital we are ready to respond together as quickly, safely and effectively as we can, and exercises like this one give us that opportunity to prepare. I would like to thank all those who took part today for their time, dedication and commitment to working in partnership and keeping those who use our road network safe.”
HLRF is a partnership of over 60 organisations who plan and train together to provide the quickest and most effective response to incidents and emergencies. HLRF also works to inform Hertfordshire residents, businesses and organisations about the risks they face and what they can do to prepare for them.
(Picture: Yay Images)
