bedfordshire gas leak!
having just taken over as the new chairman for the Beds and Cambs group, we started with a baptism of fire last Tuesday.
we received a call for assistance last Tuesday following a gas main being attacked with a JCB on a building site. this led to 6500 properties being affected and having their Gas supplies stopped immediately.
we were initially asked for assistance by the LRF to support the set up of a community rest centre and information point, it became quickly apparent that this incident was going to become long term and we were asked to provide continuous support through the days following
we were mainly tasked with welfare calls for the vulnerable within the area, i think the list made it up to 400 properties in the first 24 hours, delivering heaters and cooking facilities as required and ensuring people were fully aware of the situation
due to the number of responders continuously required we gained assistance from Herts 4x4 response, this enabled us to make sure our volunteers were rested as well.
we ended up at the peak providing 6 vehicles from 0800 to 2200hrs with over night standbys for some of the group. the incident was finally stood down on Monday afternoon at 1600hrs, after 7 days, much to the relief of all involved
i think there is a lot of reflection taking part on our behalf as to how to manage a long standing incident in the future and do we need to push the mutual aid out further. a huge learning curve for our whole team
Graeme Tolliday
Beds and Cambs 4x4 response - chairman
BC 055
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