Emergency services from Yorkshire and Humberside are working with the UK’s largest power station to test their combined capabilities in dealing with complex emergency incidents in the biggest training exercise of its kind at a power station in the region.
A training exercise will be staged at Drax Power Station, near Selby in North Yorkshire, on Saturday September 29 at 11am, when emergency services staff will team up with power station employees to test their skills.
The scenario they will be faced with will include a staged tanker explosion, which for the purposes of the training exercise will cause multiple issues at the industrial site, requiring specialist search and rescue skills to be deployed.
Jez Rushworth, assistant chief fire officer (operations) from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (pictured), said:
“By providing all of the agencies and Drax staff, with an opportunity to test their collective capabilities in this manner it enables us to build on the high level of expertise we already have in responding to and managing very serious and complex incidents across the county.
“We’ll be practicing skills in tackling different kinds of fires, working within unfamiliar industrial environments, managing and minimising environmental hazards, as well as rescuing casualties with a range of injuries – all of which is vital training so when it comes to saving real lives, we’re as prepared as we can be.”
Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO said:
“At Drax we have an excellent safety record, but as a responsible business and the operator of the UK’s biggest power station we want to do everything we can to reduce the likelihood of emergency incidents happening, as well as minimising their impact should the worst happen
“Creating this complex scenario in a live industrial setting like Drax Power Station, should make it more realistic for everyone involved, so they get the most out of it. The power station will be in operation as normal throughout the event.
“People living nearby might see some smoke at around 11am on Saturday morning as the exercise gets underway. They may also see some emergency services activity on or near the site throughout the day.”
Staff from the following agencies are taking part in the exercise, alongside around 40 staff from Drax Power Station:
- North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
- West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
- Humberside Fire and Rescue Service
- North Yorkshire Ambulance Service Hazardous Area Response Team (HART)
- North Yorkshire County Council
- The Environment Agency
The staged incident will take place at the southern side of the 1,850 acre Drax Power Station site.
ENDS
Media contacts
Ali Lewis
Drax Group Interim Head of Media & PR
E: [email protected]
T: 0771 267 0888
Jessica Gorton
Drax Group Press Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 0771 267 7177
Photos
Three photos used can be downloaded:
https://www.drax.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2018/09/Drax-test-1email.jpg
https://www.drax.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2018/09/Drax-test-2-email.jpg
https://www.drax.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2018/09/IMG_0203.jpg
About Drax
Drax Group plc plays a vital role in helping change the way energy is generated, supplied and used. Its 2,300-strong staff operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.
The Group includes:
Drax Power Ltd, which operates the largest power station in the UK, based at Selby, North Yorkshire and supplies six percent of the country’s electricity needs. The energy firm converted from burning coal to become a predominantly biomass-fuelled electricity generator. Drax is the biggest single site renewable generator in the UK and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe.
Haven Power, based in Ipswich, supplies electricity to large Industrial and Commercial sector businesses.
Opus Energy, based in Oxford, Northampton and Cardiff, provides electricity and gas to small and medium sized (SME) businesses.
Drax Biomass, is based in the US and manufactures compressed wood pellets produced from sustainably managed working forests, supplying fuel used by Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.
For more information visit www.drax.com/uk
