Exercise Anvil puts major incident response to the test
Emergency services united to test casualty management, policing skills and multi-agency decision-making in a realistic road traffic collision scenario.
Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) officers joined police, fire and ambulance partners for a major training exercise testing their ability to respond together to a complex emergency.
Exercise Anvil, held at Griffin Park, simulated a drink-driver colliding with a parked bus, causing multiple casualties and creating a rapidly developing situation.
The scenario tested the policing response to a serious road traffic collision from first attendance through to investigation and resolution, while giving participating organisations an opportunity to put the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP) into practice.
Organised and led by Sergeant Dave Marsden and the Professional Development Unit, the training brought together CNC officers, Cumbria Constabulary’s Nuclear Estates Team, Sellafield Ltd’s Fire & Rescue Service and the North West Ambulance Service.
Across three run-throughs, officers were required to declare and manage a major incident, establish command arrangements and use M/ETHANE messaging to share critical information with other emergency services.
They worked with partners to preserve life and manage casualties, using the Ten Second Triage approach to rapidly assess those involved. Alongside the emergency response, officers managed victims and witnesses, carried out investigative actions, arrested the suspect, preserved the scene and managed the prisoner handover.
Changing conditions during each scenario meant participants had to adapt while maintaining communication, situational awareness and operational co-ordination.
Command arrangements were also put to the test, requiring the emergency services to develop a shared understanding of the situation and co-ordinate their decision-making as events unfolded.
CNC role players helped create a realistic training environment, giving participants experience of managing multiple casualties while progressing a policing investigation at the same time.
Footage from Exercise Anvil will be made available to training departments to support future learning and demonstrate CNC’s ability to respond to wider policing incidents around the sites it protects.
Sergeant Marsden said: “Exercise Anvil gave us a valuable opportunity to train alongside police, fire and ambulance colleagues in a realistic and challenging scenario.
“Responding effectively to an incident of this complexity relies on emergency services being able to communicate, share information and work together under pressure. Training alongside our partners helps strengthen those working relationships and gives our officers the opportunity to put their skills into practice.
“I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to the day, including our partner agencies, CNC officers, Police Medics, role players and the Rapid Relief Team.”