DAVID ALEXANDER - 7 June 2005 - Terrorist Attacks on London: Lessons for Civil Protection
May 25, 2015
DAVID ALEXANDER
- 7 June 2005 - Terrorist Attacks
on London: Lessons for
Civil Protection
Objectives of this talk:
...examine the emergency operations after the 7 July 2005 explosions in terms of...
• their efficacy and efficiency
• lessons to learn in order to improve response to similar events in the future
• new event scenarios and new models of emergency response.
The Blitz of 1940-1: a period of history still fundamental to London culture
18,44 hrs, 8 September 1944 a supersonic rocket
falls on Staveley Road,
Chiswick, W. London
3 dead 22 seriously injured 6 houses demolished
....but the organisation of seach and rescue and civil defence was truly rudimentary in those days.
Train crash at Harrow-and-Wealdstone October 1952: first use of triage in the UK
London:
• 300 languages regularly spoken
• 8.2 million inhabitants (25 million in the Home Counties)
• occupies and area of 1,584 km2
• 4 police forces.
Wandsworth
H&F K&C
Camden
Westminster City
Richmond Richmond Richmond Richmond Richmond Richmond Richmond Richmond Richmond
Islington Hackney
Tower H
Southwark
Waltham F
Lambeth
Kingston
Lewisham
Greenwich
Barking & D
Brent
Hillingdon
Hounslow
Barnet
Bexley
Bromley
Croydon
Ealing
Enfield
Haringey Harrow
Havering
Merton
Newham
Redbridge
Sutton
Greater London: 33 local authorities
The emergency services:
Fire Brigade
Police
Emergency planning
Health services
The police usually take the role of "lead agency"
Emergency planning: London Resilience (www.londonprepared.gov.uk)
Wandsworth
H&F K&C
Camden
Westminster City
Richmond
Islington Hackney
Tower H
Southwark
Waltham F
Lambeth
Kingston
Lewisham
Greenwich
Barking & D
Brent
Hillingdon
Hounslow
Barnet
Bexley
Bromley
Croydon
Ealing
Enfield
Haringey Harrow
Havering
Merton
Newham
Redbridge
Sutton
[zonation]
Planning and statutory instruments
Transport emergency managers
Providers of basic services
Military forces
Health Protection
Unit
Recovery Mgt. Units
Local authorities
Police: Met./BTP/ CoLP/MDP
Chairman (Met. Police)
Fire service LFB
National Health Service
Ambulance Service LAS
Co-ordination of information to mass media
Mass media
representatives
London Government
Office
Crisis Unit of National Civil
Protection (COBR)
"Gold"-level Co-ordinating Group
LESLP
Bronze - operations
Silver - tactics
Gold - strategies
[Platinum - COBRA]
UK: 3 commands, 4 levels Police - Fire Brigades - Medical Services
The response environment
LEAD GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT
Media
Centre
Media
Liaison
Point
Temporary
Mortuary
Survivor
Reception
Centre
Relatives’
Reception
Centre
Local Authority
Emergency Centre
Strategic Co-ordinating Group
Police Local authority
Fire Military forces
Ambulance Government advisors
Other agencies
Strategic
level
Voluntary
Agencies
Casualty
Bureau
Public
enquiries
OUTER
CORDON
Receiving
Hospitals
Body
Holding
Area
Ambulance
Loading
Point
Casualty
Clearing
Station
Vehicle
Marshalling
Area
Incident Control Point
Police
Fire
Ambulance
Liaison
Tactical
level
INNER CORDON
Site of Disaster
Police
Fire
Ambulance
Specialist advisors
Operational
level
Pedestrians only
Cordon III for traffic
control Multi-agency operations command.
Public assembly area
Rescuers' assembly point
Points of access to cordoned off areas
Only rescuers
Cordon I
Only authorised personnel Cordon II
Incident
Time
Resp
onse
Emergency isolation phase
Major incident declared
Consolidation phase
Recovery phase
Investigation
Stand-down
Funerals Debriefings
Anniversaries Plan revision
Inquests Public enquiries
Trials Awards
Memorials Training
Court cases
Anatomy of a major incident
The bombs (rudimentary construction,
hydrogen peroxide base)
London has 40 years'
experience of metropolitan terrorism
0947 hrs: explosion on no. 30 bus in Upper Woburn Square: it is full of
passengers displaced from the Underground.
Relevant aspects:
• concentrated blast, directed upwards and sideways
• passengers on upper deck dismembered: difficult to reconstruct the bodies
• immediate availability of medical doctors with experience of emergency medicine.
London Underground ("the Tube")
• founded in 1868
• 12 lines (408 km), 275 stations
• 12,000 staff, 3 mn passengers a day
• divided between cut-and-cover lines (the earliest) and deep lines
• problems of access, maintenance, signage, safety procedures.
Oxford Circus underground station contains: • 25 stairways • 14 escalators • 9 km of walkways and platforms
Past disasters
March 1943: panic and crush at Bethnal Green – 173 dead
Feb. 1975: crash at Moorgate – 43 dead
Nov. 1987: fire at Kings Cross – 31 dead
7 July 2005 0900 hrs: evacuation of 200,000 people from the central zone of the Tube
Major incidents in the Underground: • diffusion of smoke • intense heat • lack of space and ventilation • long-lasting crisis.
Liverpool Street-Aldgate Kings Cross-Russell Square: the exit of passengers from two stations instead of one
made it seem that there were six incidents instead of four.
Primary injuries: • effects of blast pressure directly on body tissues • pulmonary barotrauma and effects on hollow organs of the body
Blast injuries
Secondary injuries: • impact of flying objects and shrapnel
Tertiary injuries: • people are thrown against walls and objects.
Various forms of injury:
• exposure to and breathing in of toxic materials
• exposure to radiation
• thermal and chemical burns
• smoke-related asfixia in fires
• crush injuries from collapse of buildings and fitments.
Blast injuries
• inhalaion of dust (including asbestos)
Effects of the Tube bombs: • blast contained and reflected off tunnel walls (rendered unstable) • concentration of blast force in confined space • derailment and crash of trains • fireballs and flashbacks.
Underground: the range of injuries • spontaneous amputation of limbs • deep damage to soft tissue, with exposure of internal organs • burns from flashbacks and fireballs • "compartment injuries", above all to lungs (barotrauma) • shrapnel injuries (transfiguration or penetrating laceration).
An effective emergency mortuary plan was an important part of the London response
The London temporary mortuary
Lessons of the London bombs
• rescue should not begin before ascertaining that the site is free of CBRN contamination: this will take about 20 minutes
• the delay in providing aid is critical and highly controversial.
• hospitals should prepare for many different types of trauma, complex triage, long-lasting surgical operations.
• lack of parallels with other types of incident (vehicle crashes - not much)
• injuries caused by bombs can be very serious and complicated
Lessons of the London bombs
• the seriousness of injuries increases exponentially with proximity to the location of the explosion (with complications caused by reflection of the blast from solid surfaces).
• bombs that explode in confined, crowded spaces inevitably cause many injuries
Lessons of the London bombs
• in a confined space such as a tunnel rescue operations will be slowed down by the need to ensure absence of CBRN contamination and secondary bombs (UXB)
• this requirement conflicts with the need to work with maximum haste in order to save the lives of injured people.
Lessons of the London bombs
• regarding underground emergencies, new means of finding out what has happened are needed and so are robust methods of informing the people involved
• new emergency planning methods are needed, with robust methods of identifying conditions in which a "red alert" needs to be declared.
Lessons of the London bombs
Lessons of the London bombs
• very seriously injured people need intensive pre-hospital case at the site before transport to hospital
• this requires new equipment and new emergency medical organisation
• blast and crush victims have an immediate need for fluids.
• even in deep tunnels in the midst of smoke and chaos, the incidence of panic is very limited: it is not a significant factor in emergency planning
• the site of the blast is also a "scene of crime" and should not be disturbed more than necessary in order to provide effective aid to victims.
Lessons of the London bombs
• an effective response to terrorist attacks requires excellent lines of communication between: - the intelligence services - the forces of law and order - civil protection services - emergency planners and managers.
Lessons of the London bombs
• passive response demanded of citizens ("go in, stay in, tune in") not appropriate?
• failure to declare major emergency in a prompt, synchronous way between emergency services
• failure of gold command to function effectively either in central London or Hendon (suburbs).
"Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation."
Saint-Mary-le-Bow
Bow bells