What is a major incident?
The Civil Contingencies Act (2004) describes a major incident
as: ‘An event or situation that threatens serious damage to human
welfare . . . the environment or the security of the United
Kingdom’.
Although the chances of such events happening in Cheshire are
unlikely we must prepare for any of the following:
- Natural hazards such as snow, floods and gales
- Manmade disasters such as rail accidents and motorway
pileups
- Industrial accidents such as oil spills and factory
fires
- Terrorism
- Food poisoning and disease outbreaks such as BSE, foot and
mouth and E-coli
What is Cheshire Police's role in the event of a major
incident?
Each agency has a role to play in a major incident, from the
fire service and environmental agency, to the local media. Each
individual helps in their area of expertise.
Sgt Keith Robbins, Cheshire Police's Critical Incident Manager,
said: “In the case of any Major Incident your safety is our main
concern. We have various procedures in place to make sure that the
disruption to your daily lives is as minimal as possible.
"We are responsible for the co-ordination of the emergency
services, local authorities and other organisations involved at the
scene or elsewhere. This allows those agencies to do their jobs
efficiently.
"In the unlikely event of a Major Incident we are required to
create cordons restricting access to the rescue zone and potential
crime scene. The Police control all the goings on around the area
like diverting traffic, controlling the media, setting up meeting
points etc.
"It is our job along with any other investigative bodies to find
out what exactly happened by securing any potential evidence. We
then will pass on as much information as possible to the relevant
authorities.
"After all necessary actions have been taken we put in place
short term measures to restore normality.”