Major incident test being held in Guildford
We're being told not to worry if we see a large presence of emergency service teams today
If you're in Guildford you may notice a large number of emergency response teams near the station today (11 July).
We're being told not to worry thought because it's a pre-planned major incident exercise involving our local emergency services.
They carry out these exercises to test their response to a simulated major incident. This one is being called 'Exercise Comet'.
It's taking place between 10am and 2:30pm near Guildford railway station.
Ahead of the exercise, Sergeant Olly Brown, of Exercise and Testing, Operations Command, said: “We should exercise and challenge our staff, processes, and systems in all manner of incident types.
“No agency hopes to ever have to deal with a scenario like Exercise Comet, but by bringing together the people who would actually be responding, we are all able to understand each other more effectively which ultimately saves lives.”
The exercise will involve partners from Surrey Local Resilience Forum (SLRF) testing their plans and multi-agency incident response. Joining Surrey Police are SECAmb (South East Coast Ambulance Service), British Transport Police, Surrey Fire and Rescue, Network Rail, Surrey County Council, Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford Borough Council, Environment Agency, Rail Accident Investigation Branch, South Western Railway, Great Western Railway, Avanti West Coast, the Rail Delivery Group and Surrey 4×4 Volunteers.
The exercise will mean a large emergency service presence in the area with around 300 responders attending to around 100 casualties, provided by the Casualties Union.
SECAmb Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience Manager, Dave Nelson said: “We are looking forward to working with our partners as we test our response to a major incident and each ensure we are able to work together, reduce harm and save lives in a major incident.
“The public in the area should not be alarmed with the increased emergency service activity. This pre-planned exercise is an important part of us being assured of our resilience and response plans which we will review and strengthen where required after the exercise.”