SEBEV Training Officer Chris Curry attended a Thames Valley Police Major Incident Bronze training course last week. The course was a result of SEBEV Search & Rescue's continued liaison and development with the Thames Valley Local Resilience Forum. 

The event was aimed at management/supervisory personnel that might find themselves acting as a Bronze commander during a major incident. The day also provided an opportunity to network as  the syndicates were organised in relation to geographical areas across the Thames Valley. Apart from Police and Fire & Rescue there were representatives from Local Authorities, Environment Agency and the voluntary sector including RAYNET and 4x4 groups.

Lectures covered major incident control, the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, business continuity, Fire Service command roles, counter terrorism and details of how Category 1 responders each deal with a major incident and act collectively. During the day there were three desk top exercises all based upon real life incidents including a fire at a petrol station, a terrorist attack involving improvised explosive devices and major flooding.