UK Classification Exercise

UK Classification Exercise

UK Classification Exercise

Venue: Fort Widley, Hampshire

Date: 5 – 9 March 2006

• Organised by Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service

• Funded by DFID

• INSARAG Assessors– Dewey Perks, Peter Bytomski, Trevor

Glass, Anders Oberg, Ted Pearn and Brendan Morris

UK Team Structure

• DFID - the UK Government Department that deploys the official UK team– Including Fire Service Search & Rescue Team and

NGO Teams – Together make up UKISARG

• Teams taking part during the exercise – IRC, BIRD, CANIS, RAPID UK, REST– Fire Service - Hampshire, Kent, West Midlands, GMC,

Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Grampian, Lancashire, South Wales & West Sussex

– DFID and the UK Police

• Over 100 ‘rescuers’• Over 100 exercise staff, observers and assessors!

– Visitors/Observers from– Poland, Greece, Czech Republic, Qatar, Denmark, New York State,

Fairfax County, Los Angeles County, many UK Fire & Rescue Services, ODPM, FSC, Map Action.

– Press & Media• specialist trade, local and national

– Trade contacts• equipment suppliers

Programme

• Sunday– Initial light/medium teams arrive– Airport reception, OSOCC, initial BoO all set up and

operations started, continuing overnight

• Monday– Heavy contingent arrives, operations expand at Fort

Widley– A major offsite venue is opened during the day– An overnight offsite confined space exercise is

opened

Programme

• Tuesday– Fort Widley site continues, with a Police involvement

for secure Embassy areas– Crane exercise in Portsmouth– Rope and dog exercise in Eastleigh– Security exercise (kidnapping of rescuers)– Multiple casualty scenario at Widley– Overnight offsite search exercise at HMS Dryad

• Wednesday– Fort Widley scenarios continue to a finish

Lessons Learned for UKISARG

– Improvements needed in administrative procedures, especially in regard to role and responsibility at the RC/DC and OSOCC

– Better prepared to perform necessary actions required of the “first arriving USAR team”

– Better BOO procedures including camp security

– Medical and engineering component of team needs strengthening

Challenges and Advice

• UN Classification– Examine the requirements in detail– Try to demonstrate the full range of capability

against the requirements– Allow the assessors an opportunity to modify

the programme– Ask assessors if they want to observe specific

things

Challenges and Advice

• UN Classification– Give the assessors the freedom to go

anywhere– Provide a meeting room with white boards,

paper etc.– Facilitate arrangements

• Transport• Food and water• Interpreter

Questions ?