HART go under cover

On Tuesday, May 25, the East of England Ambulance Service, Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) joined forces with crews from Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team from Bucks Fire and Rescue Service. All three services took part in a multi-agency exercise to find 'casualties' lost in a network of tunnels in a West Hertfordshire wood.

In the scenario, a child had gone missing near to some chalk mines and an adult that had gone to search for the child had also disappeared. Four fire crews, two from Watford and two from Hemel Hempstead arrived at the scene of the incident. A HFRS search team and the HART paramedics entered the network of tunnels alongside firefighters, allowing urgent medical aid and pain relief to be administered to the 'casualty' immediately, before preparing them to moved and taken to the surface.

Hart Training Manager, Lewis Andrews said: "The ethos of HART was demonstrated today with an excellent working relationship between the Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service and the USAR team from Bucks Fire & Rescue Service All three teams who took part in this worthy exercise have taken away some valid learning points. The exercise itself, ultimately led to the safe stabilisation, packaging and extrication to definitive care of the patients who became trapped underground. The HART team worked with all personnel on scene to ensure the patients received the best clinical practice in a complex environment for which the team are equipped, prepared and trained to work within."

Fire Station Commander John Print, who was in charge of the exercise, said: "This is an exercise to practice working in a confined space alongside our colleagues in other emergency services. It allows us to learn about the capabilities and limitations of each organisation. The scenario, in the chalk mines, provides a similar working environment to sewers, storm drains and disused mines; we have all of those in Hertfordshire. The small tunnels mean that firefighters and paramedics have to work on their hands and knees, so exercises like this one are essential to practice the skills that would be needed in a real life incident."

Executive Member for Community Safety and Culture, Keith Emsall, said: "This is a fantastic training opportunity for our emergency services to practice working together effectively. It is important that procedures between organisations are tested regularly to ensure they are fully prepared in a real life situation."

The exercise took place in a potholing facility at Phasels Wood Scout Camp in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire