How would the UK cope in the event of a disaster like Hurricane Sandy? Who is responsible for flood rescue? How has the Civil Contingencies Act influenced the resilience agenda? These are some of the topics to be discussed when resilience and emergency people convene in Birmingham this September for The Emergency Services Show and the Emergency Planning Society’s Resilience Conference, Awards and AGM.
At a new larger venue, the NEC, on September 25 and 26, The Emergency Services Show is a free event for anyone involved in helping the UK to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies. Marking its 20th anniversary this year, the Emergency Planning Society (EPS) will be hosting three of its own events alongside the two-day show. The members-only AGM will run at the NEC on September 25 and a separate paid-for conference, Resilience: Past, Present and Future, on September 26. The conference includes a presentation on Hurricane Sandy by James J Manahan Jr, of the NYC Fire Dept. This talk leads onto the afternoon’s ‘Big Debate’ – ‘The UK needs to prepare for an incident like Hurricane Sandy’.
The fifth national EPS Resilience Awards are on the evening of September 25, at the Ramada, Solihull. Resilience and emergency planning professionals are encouraged to showcase their work; nominations close on 30 August. For more information visit: www.the-eps.org/awards.
Anyone attending EPS events will automatically be pre-registered for fast-track entry to The Emergency Services Show. The Emergency Services Show provides networking and learning opportunities. Visitors can meet with cross-capability officers on the CFOA Critical National Resilience stand and discuss resilience training with the likes of the Emergency Planning College (part of Serco) and The Fire Service College. The UK Power Networks Public Safety Team will be providing guidance on how to stay safe when attending emergency incidents involving electricity networks. Meanwhile in the exhibition’s Emergency Response Zone, The Institute of Civil Protection & Emergency Management and National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NACTSO) will be offering advice alongside government departments including Civil Contingencies Secretariat, Government Decontamination Services and Joint Emergency Services Operability Programme (JESIP).
Exhibiting for the first time is Public Health England, a new national executive agency formed from a number of organisations. Its mission is to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing, including cutting-edge research into toxicology, radiation, infectious pathogens and operational responses, particularly in decontamination and emergency health care for the public and at mass gatherings.
“We all witnessed the Boston bombings and the collapse of the clothing factory in Bangladesh. Closer to home we have witnessed the brutal murder of Drummer Lee Rigby and the helicopter crash in Vauxhall. These events are all too common, but behind the scenes, and on the front line, resilience and emergency planning professionals strive to overcome the challenges thrown at them. They have helped shape the profession, and continue to do so,” says EPS Chair, Helen Hinds.
For more on The Emergency Services Show, including online registration, details of free workshops and exhibitor list, visit www.emergencyuk.com/pr12
To book your place at any of the EPS events – visit: www.the-eps.org/events.
