DIO supports blue light rehearsal in eastern England
Emergency services’ teams from across eastern England practiced getting to grips with the aftermath of a fatal helicopter accident on a military training area in the region.
The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) opened its Stanford Training Area (STANTA), in Norfolk, to the emergency crews as the location for a simulated aviation incident.
Exercise Blue Light was the fourth in a series of annual emergency exercises. It involved the Norfolk and Suffolk Lowland search and rescue teams, theNorfolkandSuffolk4X4 response teams, Norfolk Fire and Rescue Services, Norfolk Police and the military air accident investigation branch.
Lt Col (Retd) Tony Powell, Executive Officer for DIO SD Training East, said:
“Whilst DIO’s priority is to support our Armed Forces as they prepare for operations, STANTA is a diverse training area offering a wide range of facilities suitable for non-military users. I was pleased we could support this important multi-agency exercise.
“The exercise went very smoothly and was regarded as a great success. Most importantly it proved the STANTA emergency procedure and allowed new acquaintances to be made and mutual problems to be discussed.”
Organised by Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue (SULSAR), the exercise saw a challenging scenario set up where a civilian helicopter crashed in the early hours of the morning. Participants examined and determined the extent of the crash, recovering debris from the crash site, whilst helping and directing search teams.
The aim of the exercise was for all the agencies involved to test their capabilities and speed of response to a civilian air crash.
By the end of the exercise the search teams, with the help of a police helicopter, had found all the debris from the crash (and a little extra) which was cleared by Range Control. All ‘bodies’ were recovered and all crash debris identified.
Paul Wesley, of SULSAR, said:
“Exercise Blue Light was a resounding success. The day ran smoothly thanks to the invaluable support we received from the team at STANTA. The exercise enabled us to practice for a real life scenario and iron out any potential issues. The exercise was so successful, I would like to return next year and run Exercise Blue Light 5.”
Further information:
Press enquiries to Tony Moran, Senior Communications Officer 0121 311 3879 or email tony.moran572@mod.uk
DIO website: www.gov.uk/dio
Twitter: @mod_dio
Read DIO’s blog: https://insidedio.blog.gov.uk/
Notes to Editors
1) The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) plays a vital role in supporting our Armed Forces by building, maintaining and servicing what the men and women who serve our country need to live, work, train and deploy on operations.
2) DIO is part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD). It is responsible for managing and maintaining land and properties, as well as providing related support services, to meet the current and future needs of the MOD and personnel at home and abroad, and to support current operations.
3) Our work includes supporting operational units by providing and improving single living and service family accommodation; training areas and historic military sites. DIO actively manages these to ensure the needs of Defence are met, value for money is achieved, and its heritage is protected, and to achieve its environmental goals.
4) Picture caption – please credit ‘Crown copyright/MOD 2014’: Emergency services take part in Exercise Blue Light at STANTA.
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