A TRAINING session to prepare firefighters and police to deal with terrorist attacks and major environmental disasters was held at the town’s new blue light centre.
The joint police and fire station welcomed members of the emergency services from across the region as well as the military to practise dealing with situations seen on the Somerset levels.
The event was designed to prepare the forces to receive a large amount of national support if there was a major incident somewhere in the two counties.
Members of the forces all took part in Exercise Welcome Waggon which focused on getting them to emerge themselves into a specific roles and act as if they were actually dealing with a major incident.
During the day a number of units worked together this included the High Volume pumping unit – similar to the type used at the Somerset levels and the Mass Decontamination unit for the decontamination of responders and large numbers of the public.
As well as this the Detection, Identification and Monitoring team was also present along with the Urban Search and Rescue unit which responds to large scale incidents involving structural collapse or large rail, road and aircraft incidents.
The Command and Control team who manage and co-ordinate resources to major emergencies were also present.
Station commander Stephen Fox, from Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, said: “I am please the new collaborated police and fire station allows us to hold an event such as this which can only benefit our communities locally and nationally.
“We are really appreciative of the college and Artrix for letting us to use their car parking facilities.”
