Live emergency planning exercise at Woodberry Down: 8 October
The Council, London Fire Brigade, Metropolitan Police Service and partners will be holding a live emergency planning exercise at Burtonwood House, on Woodberry Down Estate, on Tuesday 8 October.
The exercise will allow the agencies to practice how they would respond to a serious incident in the borough and to test their plans. It will test working relationships between different agencies and how they provide support and services for the public.
The exercise will be live and as realistic as possible, while being controlled at all times. It will include a simulated fire and an evacuation of volunteer actors. There will be a mock rest centre at the Redmond Community Centre.
In Hackney we take the safety of our residents extremely seriously. We work closely with the emergency services and other partners throughout the year to make sure we are well prepared to respond to any emergencies should they arise. It’s absolutely crucial that we regularly test our plans. Usually we do that via table-top exercises but live scenarios like this give us the opportunity to test our response to emergencies in as realistic a way as possible.
The location has been chosen to minimise disruption but I’d like to thank neighbours for their patience and understanding in advance of the exercise.
The London Fire Brigade will be demonstrating its operational response to High Rise Residential building when involved in a fire.
Realistic exercises of this nature are an excellent way to strengthening our multi agency communication and response to such incidents, which is key to bringing incidents of this nature to a quick and safe conclusion. We carry out similar exercises across London on a regular basis to ensure the London Fire Brigade continues to offer a professional service, making London a safer city.
Parking restrictions will be in place from 10am on 8 October in the immediate area surrounding Burtonwood and Ashdale House. More detailed information has been sent to residents and businesses in the local area, and posters will go up around the estate.
Residents with questions about the exercise can email: emergency.planning@hackney.gov.uk or for more general emergency planning information visit: https://www.hackney.gov.uk/emergency-planning
The exercise will test our emergency response in relation to a fire. For more information about fire safety visit: https://www.hackney.gov.uk/fire-safety