Bolton's firefighters put terror attack response to the test

They took on the exercise alongside colleagues from Greater Manchester Police and North West Ambulance Service on Monday.

This exercise, Exercise Momentum, saw the teams tackle a mock marauding terror attack, a term for a terror attack where the assailant moves across a location causing a significant number of casualties.

The location in this instance was Leigh Sports Village, where Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service Deputy Chief Fire Officer Ben Norman said Exercise Momentum was a success.

The exercise at Leigh Sports Village (Image: GMFRS)

He said: "The threat of a terror attack is deeply worrying but sadly it is a reality we face here in Greater Manchester. 

"That is why it is imperative that we're well trained, well equipped and well prepared to ensure we can respond effectively to help people if we're ever called upon.

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"As well as keeping the public safe, the safety of our firefighters is an absolute priority. We have established a more resilient marauding terrorist attack capability for Greater Manchester, by increasing our capacity and capability, which sees every firefighter being fully trained and every fire appliance better equipped to respond to all forms of terrorist or mass casualty incident.

"Regular training exercises such as this allow us to continue to put our collective emergency service response into practice so we can ensure we are always ready."

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Ben Norman

A little over a year ago, inspectors said there was 'cause for concern' over GMFRS' preparedness to respond to a terror attack.

But the progress made in preparing firefighters, which includes three-day training for all 1,200 operational crews and specialist PPE in all operational appliances, saw the 'cause for concern' removed last September.

Wasim Chaudhry, Assistant Chief Constable at GMP, said: "I am pleased to say the event was extremely useful and I was encouraged that so many colleagues were able to take part. 

"Joint multiagency training, testing and exercising is extremely valuable. Exercises such as this are an opportunity to test the ability of police officers, staff and partner agencies to work together to deliver an outstanding service, whilst keeping people safe and caring for victims.”

Steve Hynes, Assistant Director of Resilience at NWAS added: “Whilst we regularly conduct training and exercises within NWAS, collaboration with our blue light partners is vital if we are to provide a seamless joint response to the public. Exercises such as these are crucial to test our combined resilience and preparedness for major incidents”.