Hosting Shropshire Fire and Rescue Exercise

For most of us a visit from the local fire service is both unscheduled and unsettling. Not this time. We were delighted to host Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service for an exercise at our Lithium battery storage warehouse one night last week.

The exercise was designed to test a number of firefighting skills and prepare for potential scenarios involving warehouses, lithium batteries and casualty evacuation.  Included in this was the co-ordination of no less than four appliances from four different stations within the area command.

We were first visited by the team whose job it was to set up the exercise, making the situation as realistic as possible with simulated flames, smoke and dummy casualties deposited within the darkened warehouse.  We had made available our latest warehouse which is being prepared for use and not yet housing any battery stock.  When the balloon went up we were inundated with firefighters, assessors, trainers and observers.  In total there must have been 45 people in attendance.

With calm efficiency they set-up a command post, deployed appliances to key points on the site and set about getting the ‘fire’ under control.  Accessing our different on-site water sources with pumps and hoses would have been a challenge in the dark so they quickly erected lighting frames and set about using the resources we have at our disposal.

Within minutes, the team that entered the ‘burning’ building were emerging with the dummy casualties, plucked from the dark, smoke-filled warehouse.  You couldn’t see your hand in front of your face!