Operation Strong Tower – The Importance of Emergency Preparedness
Police officers, soldiers, emergency services and intelligence officials across the capital have recently found themselves taking part in London’s largest counter-terrorism exercise to date.
Named operation “Strong Tower”, the exercise aims to evaluate emergency services on their responses in a simulation of a terror attack where they will face tests of their decision-making and crisis-management skills.
The exercise included 1,000 Met police officers and staff, as well as teams from ambulance and fire services, Transport for London, the Home Office, Cabinet Office, Foreign Office, Department for Transport, Ministry of Defence, Department of Health, NHS England and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Whilst individual organisations can’t prevent several types of disasters, they can also prepare for the effects that hazards may pose. With the types of emergency varying widely, being prepared for the unforeseen ensures peace of mind, and reduces the potential impacts of emergencies – reducing risk, ensuring business continuity, and property and life safety.
S2’s Emergency Preparedness Testing has been designed to review the effectiveness of emergency response procedures in order to ensure that legal obligations to prevent and mitigate the effects of a major incident are met. The objective of the emergency scenario is to test, through simulation, the effectiveness of crisis managementUnplanned events such as acts of terrorism, security threats, public disturbance and political unrest can have disastrous impacts on businesses. Preparing businesses for these unplanned events helps... More and other arrangements to deal with an incident likely to cause significant harm to the site and/or its people, and to provide recommendations after the event for corrective action.
What are the benefits?
Emergency Preparedness Testing assesses and reports on the effectiveness of the emergency response by the site management team. It is vital to ensure procedures are in place to prevent, prepare for and mitigate the effects of major incidents, and to ensure all site personnel are effectively trained and aware of their responsibilities in relation to such potential incidents.
For more information on emergency preparedness testing and how the S2 Partnership can also assist with evacuation and emergency planning click here.