Firefighters and paramedics in hazmat suits were spotted at Paddington Station today as an emergency services training exercise took place. British Transport Police confirmed the exercise involved the London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade at Paddington Station, the site of a soon to open Crossrail stop.
So far it is not clear what type of incident the training exercise is designed to respond to, however TfL have previously warned “there will be times where police, fire and ambulance service vehicles may be seen near stations, testing and simulating what would happen in the event their staff were required to attend” as the new Elizabeth Line prepares to open.
READ MORE: Fire Brigade simulates aircraft crash in joint disaster training exercise with RAF in Uxbridge
Firefighters carried a dummy up an elevator
(Image: David Nathan)
Diversions were in place around the station this afternoon, with fire engines, police cars, and ambulances in place and dozens of emergency service workers simulating a response. Firefighters wearing breathing equipment could be seen carrying a dummy up the elevator, while paramedics wearing blue and yellow hazmat suits pushed a stretcher down the road.
Hazmat suits, oxygen canisters, and emergency tents suggest the simulation might be part of a response to a chemical or biological incident.
The exercise appeared to simulate some sort of chemical or biological incident
(Image: David Nathan)
The exercise caused some road closures and cordons were in place but Paddington station remained open
(Image: David Nathan)
London has previously been home to large training exercises, for example in 2016 when the largest simulation in Europe took place at Waterloo station with a pretend building collapse.
Hundreds of actors – each with a different story – helped make the scenario as realistic as possible and tested the clinical skills of the emergency crews responding to the mocked up disaster.
In 2015 more than 100 people took part in a mock emergency test exercise in Ealing to improve the council’s response to major incidents, and in 2016 the LFB even simulated a plane crash near Uxbridge. Terrorism exercises have also been a feature of emergency service preparation in recent years.
Emergency treatment centres were seen erected on the roads around the station
(Image: David Nathan)
The British Transport Police and London Fire Brigade were approached for a statement, while the LAS did not provide a statement.
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