LOCAL EMERGENCY SERVICES MEDICAL EXERCISE

Despite rain and cold conditions on March 5th, the fire siren heralded the start of a combined Emergency Services Exercise at the old Martinborough Transport yard. The Martinborough St John Cadet unit provided the patients and both the Martinborough Volunteer Fire Brigade and Ambulance Trust Ambulance crewed by St John Ambulance First Responders, attended the exercise.

The exercise was designed to test both Fire Brigade and Ambulance responders ability to rapidly assess and provide lifesaving treatment to a large number of casualties.

The local St John Cadets used the exercise to broaden their understanding of inter-agency response, and gain a knowledge of the medical capabilities of local Firefighters.

The First Responders from both the Fire Brigade and Ambulance were able to use the inter-agency Triage System to rapidly assess the 6 patients and prioritise their treatment along with categorising which patients required evacuation first. Additionally Fire Service skills maintenance and operational knowledge assessments was carried out, which including one Firefighter sustaining simulated injuries during the exercise.

All those involved said they have gained a learning outcome from the exercise and plan to work on similar events in the future. The Fire Brigade would like to thank the St John Cadet Unit for their help and Martinborough Transport for their support by providing a dry venue for the exercise. Locals can be reassured by the level of expertise demonstrated by our local Firefighters and Ambulance First Responders.