Emergency Plan

ROYAL BOROUGH OF KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA EMERGENCY PLAN FOR MAJOR PEACETIME EMERGENCIES Preface Home Office Circular ES3/1993 expounds the concept of integrated emergency management. When applied to Local Authority Emergency preparedness, it means that the emphasis of an emergency plan should be on the response to, and not the cause of, an emergency, and the corporate management and co-ordination of departments having an input into the response. This emergency plan has been compiled with this emphasis in mind. January 2002 CONTENTS PREFACE PART 1 - The Emergency Plan - an Overview PART 2 - Roles and Responsibilities Section 1 - The Emergency Services Section 2 - The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Responsibilities Section 3 - The Role of elected Members PART 3 - Aid and Supporting Agencies Section 1 - London Borough Mutual Aid Arrangements Section 2 - The Voluntary Services Section 3 - Public Utilities & Ancillary Services Section 4 - Military Aid and Powers PART 4 - Facilities and Resources Section 1 - Emergency Control Centre Organisation Section 2 - Communications Section 3 - Rest and Reception Centres Section 4 - Auxiliary Mortuaries PART 5 - Appendices Appendix A - Directorate Cascade (Restricted Publication) Appendix B - Business Continuity Plan Appendix C - Chemical and Biological Release Plan Appendix D - Major Community Disorder Plan January 2002 The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Emergency Plan for Major Emergencies The Aim of the Borough’s Emergency Plan The number of major disasters that have occurred in this country and abroad during recent years, reinforce the need for and importance of emergency preparedness. This Borough, together with the emergency services, plans and exercises to ensure that in the event of such emergencies we can respond and support each other appropriately. The Borough’s Emergency Plan exists to provide guidelines and information for Directors and Managers who may be called upon to organise and co-ordinate the response of the Borough to a major emergency in its area or, indeed, within any of the boroughs in North West London with which it is grouped in a Mutual Aid Scheme. The Borough and the emergency services work to the following definition of a major emergency: - “ A major incident or natural disaster resulting in either death, injury or serious disruption to normal life and likely to overwhelm a Council’s services whilst operating under normal conditions. In such circumstances specific mobilisation and co-ordination of resources and assistance of other boroughs may be required.” The aim of the Borough’s plan is: - (a) To co-ordinate the services and resources of the Council so that they are used to their maximum effectiveness; (b) To enable assistance to be provided to the emergency services; and (c) To provide welfare and help to those affected by the major incident. It has been agreed by all those involved in responding that they will ensure that notification is sent to all as soon as it becomes clear that a joint response will be required. When the Borough is informed of a major emergency a senior officer will decide upon the most suitable response. The appropriate Directorates will be notified of the event and an Emergency Control Room established for communicating with the emergency services and others involved in dealing with the incident. A Borough Liaison Officer will be sent to the vicinity of the incident to provide a direct link between the scene and the Emergency Control Room. The General Response Each responding organisation has particular responsibilities in relation to an incident. The Police have the responsibility to co-ordinate the emergency services at the scene, to prevent unauthorised persons entering the cordoned area and to initially investigate the cause of the incident. The Fire Brigade are responsible for dealing with fires, the safety of those near the incident and rescuing casualties. In addition the Fire Brigade will play a major role in chemical or similar incidents in making areas safe and decontaminating casualties. The Ambulance Service is responsible for dealing with casualties once rescued and conveying them to hospital if required. January 2002 The Borough will in the first instance assist the emergency services in providing resources within its control to the scene. The Borough may also be required to open a Rest Centre to shelter those actually involved in the incident. The Borough’s main role comes in assisting the community to return to a state of normality once the Police and Fire Brigade have cleared the scene. Assistance From Others Assistance in responding to the major emergency is available from many sources including other Boroughs and Voluntary Organisations. The 33 London Boroughs are divided into five mutual aid groups. This Borough is in the North West Group of Boroughs, which includes the London Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, Hounslow, Brent, Ealing, Harrow and Hillingdon. Requests for assistance are co-ordinated by the London Borough of Hillingdon. Among the voluntary organisations that have agreed to assist the Borough in the event of being requested are the W.R.V.S., the Red Cross and St Johns Ambulance. The assistance from these organisations will in the main be in running Rest Centres. If the incident is of a very large nature and affects more than one Borough assistance can be asked for from the military under the “ Military aid to the Civil Community “ scheme. The assistance the military will most likely be able to provide is the provision of accommodation and communications. The Borough’s Response The Borough’s Emergency Control Centre The main Emergency Control Centre is equipped with direct line and switchboard extensions telephones, computers and telephones on the Home Office Emergency Communications Network. There are alternative sites for an Emergency Control Room available should it be necessary. Rest and Reception Centres A number of buildings have been identified, spread around the Borough, to be used as Rest Centres should the need arise to shelter members of the public as the result of any incident. Arrangements have been made for Council officers to set up and operate Rest Centres. Business Continuity Plan The council has a duty to restore services to the population and businesses in the borough with the least possible delay following any major incident and to provide a single point of contact for the emergency services to request assistance if required. The Business Continuity Plan aims to ensure that, where possible, steps are taken in advance by all departments to avoid or minimise risks to all council buildings and services. If an incident does occur, be its origins within the Council or outside, recovery needs to be effected quickly and any wider impact minimised. Council Response to the Deliberate Release of Chemicals and Biological Agents This is a separate document, which outlines how the Council would respond to a deliberate release of chemicals and biological agents. January 2002 The document gives an overview of the multi-agency response to a deliberate release of chemical and biological materials in the United Kingdom. It outlines how the Council would respond to such an incident and gives a more detailed account (than appears in the Emergency Plan) of Service specific responses to such incidents. It also indicates where to obtain more detailed specialist advice and information. Council Response to Major Community Disorder This is also a separate document which shows how the Council, in partnership with the Metropolitan Police, would respond to a rise in community tension, to mitigate the effects of rising tension, and to co-ordinate a swift and integrated response should major community disorder nevertheless occur The plan deals with the measures to be taken by the Council in partnership with the Metropolitan Police Service in anticipation of and in response to major community disorder Further information Further information about any aspect of the Borough’s Emergency Plan and associated documents can be obtained from: - Emergency Planning Officer Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, Town Hall, Hornton Street, London, W.8 7NX 020 7361 2139 e-mail; `[email protected] January 2002 ROYAL BOROUGH OF KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA EMERGENCY PLAN FOR MAJOR PEACETIME EMERGENCIES PART 1 - AN OVERVIEW INTRODUCTION 1. 1 The number of major disasters that have occurred in this country and abroad during recent years, exemplify the need and importance of emergency preparedness. This has been acknowledged by the Government, which has provided some legislative means to persuade local authorities to prepare Emergency plans by issuing, under the Civil Defence Act 1948, the Civil Defence (Local Authority Functions) Regulations 1993 and a Home Office Circular No.ES5/1994. 1. 2 The Regulations came into force on the 1st August 1993 and as regards Metropolitan Authorities transferred the responsibility for Civil Defence Planning from the Fire and Civil Defence Authorities to Metropolitan District Councils and London Boroughs. 1. 3 Whilst these regulations do not refer to peacetime emergency planning and therefore do not impose a statutory duty on Councils to plan for peacetime emergencies Home Office Circular ES5/1993 states that Civil Defence Planning should be linked to the arrangements made by local authority for peacetime emergencies. 1. 4 In addition to these regulations there remains authority under Section 138 of the Local Government Act 1972, which empowers Councils to incur expenses to alleviate the effects of a major disaster. 1. 5 The Borough’s Emergency Plan therefore, exists to provide guidelines and information for Directors and Managers who may be called upon to organise and co-ordinate the response of the Borough to a major emergency in its area or, indeed, within any of the boroughs with which it is grouped in a Mutual Aid Scheme. 1. 6 Except for Tidal Flooding of the River Thames and Nuclear incidents, the plan does not define or describe types of emergencies that may occur.

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