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Emergency Planning *

Contact details

During office hours: 01376 552525 ask for Emergency Planning Team.                       

e-mail address: csc@braintree.gov.uk

Out of hours: 01376 552525

In an emergency contact the emergency services on 999


WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY?

an event or situation which threatens serious damage to

- human welfare in a place in the UK

- the environment of a place in the UK

- or war or terrorism which threatens serious damage to the security of the UK. 

It will require a response beyond the everyday resources of the emergency services and those departments and organisations that support them.

An emergency cannot normally be predicted and can come in any form:

<>   Severe Weather
<>   Natural Disaster
<>   Technological/Industrial Accidents
<>   Power failures
<>   Transport/Road/Rail/Air
<>   Terrorism

It can happen very suddenly, for example, an aircraft crash, or have a more gradual onset, for example flooding following a period of heavy rain.  It may be from a natural cause or one that is ‘man-made’.

What emergencies has Braintree District Council dealt with in the past?

Braintree Council has been involved with responding to requests for assistance from the Community and the Emergency Services.  The Council has assisted in the response to flooding, severe weather, gas leaks and evacuations, prolonged power cuts, explosions and the evacuation of a school.     

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA)

The purpose of the Act was to establish a new statutory framework for civil protection at a local level.  Local responders are the basis of resilience in the UK, and the Act has enhanced and formalised existing arrangements by;

The Act established a clear set of roles and  responsibilities, ensuring greater consistency across Civil Protection/Emergency Planning.  It also established a base for performance management at a local level.

In order to increase the resilience and response capability of Braintree District Council there is a flexible generic plan which links with other partners plans to ensure a rapid and efficient response to the incident

ICEIn Case of Emergency

In your mobile phone – this involves putting the acronym ICE in front of designated emergency contact numbers i.e. ICE Joe or ICE mum.  In case of an incident or emergency situation, the Fire / Ambulance / Police personnel can call your emergency "ICE" contact and inform them of your situation.   

Go In Stay In Tune In

In certain situations the Emergency Services will advise you to Go In Stay in Tune In, as it is safer for you to be indoors rather than be outside.  In this case you should tune into your local Radio Station or news channel for local news and information.

Radio stations:

BBC Essex: 95.3 & 103.5 FM or 729/765/1530 MW
Heart (Essex) FM: 96.3 & 102.6 FM

Home/Family Emergency Plan

Here’s a good idea - to help you and your household in any emergency.

If you should have to leave your home unexpectedly, all you’d have to do is grab your emergency grab bag. It’ll have all the essentials you would need.

Any bag will do, but give it a "bag tag", so you know what it’s for. If you have children in the house, this is a great project for them to do. Planning what goes into it, making sure it’s complete and then thinking through what you would need to do if everyone had to leave the house in a hurry. Everyone copes better if they’re prepared.

The bag should be small enough for anyone to carry and be kept in a safe place which everyone in your household can find. A bag tag will help you to identify it in a crisis.

Make a Check card

- Copies of identity documents / Insurance details

- First aid kit / Prescription medicines details - for the family / Toiletries 

- Radio (battery or wind up) / Torch (battery or wind up) / Spare batteries

- Notebook, pen/pencil

- Spare glasses/contact lenses

- Mobile phone charger / Contact list - including phone numbers

- Spare keys for house/car

......What else.......? (chocolate is always good)

 

Community Resilience

Part of the role of Emergency Planning is to try and raise the awareness of the Community about emergencies and how to prepare for them.

Some of this work is done in partnership with schools - Braintree District Council has already started by working with Alec Hunter Humanities College and  want to work with other schools across the district.

Click on this link to to learn more about the "Community Resilience through Schools project".

Click on this link to find out about the interactive emergency planning "What If..?" project for students, teachers, parents.   

BRAINTREE DISTRICT COMMUNITY RISK REGISTER 

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Chapter 4 Regulations 15 and 16) places the duty on all "Category 1 Responders" to make an assessment of the risks within their local area and, produce a Community Risk Register.

This process is carried out  annually by identifying potential hazards within the Braintree District area, assessing the risks and giving consideration to how those risks should be managed. This procedure is based on the Countywide and National format, and is also influenced by Countywide and National Risks.

There is guidance which explains how to interpret the Braintree Community Risk Register (as it is based on national guidance and as such has to conform and include certain issues) The general guidance is based on the Essex Resilience Forum website.  Finally there is a BDC Overview of the District 2012 which looks at some of the risks which affect the Community.


LOCATE

LOCATE is a service provided by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office which can help track down Britons in the event of an emergency abroad. 

Travellers can register details of their trip as well as family/friend contact details.

Click on the link under "useful links" on the right hand side of the page for information on this scheme and the travellers "checklist " which can be found on the Foreign and Commonwealth websites.

 

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