Major Incidents
Major incidents in Poole
Poole is a safe place to live and work. However it is only prudent to prepare for those rare incidents that can cause significant disruption to us.
From time to time, we are faced with "major" or serious incidents. These may cause (or threaten to cause) harm to people, property or to the wider environment, or they may threaten to disrupt our lives in some other way.
We may also have to confront other incidents such as
- terrorism
- coastal oil pollution
- chemical releases
- transport accidents
The common factor in all these incidents was that they require special co-ordinated action by the emergency services, local authorities and other agencies beyond their normal day-to-day arrangements.
Major incident response
Most major incidents happen suddenly and unexpectedly. However, in some cases, such as severe weather, we may get advanced warning and time to prepare.
The first response to major incidents is usually by the emergency services 
(Police, Fire, Ambulance, Coastguard). They will assess the situation and decide whether to alert other agencies to help manage the incident. This is where local authorities are often called on to help.
The response to major incidents is normally co-ordinated by the Police, although individual agencies are responsible for their own aspect of any response. We have our own incident response plan.
Social Services will provide a range of trauma support services in the aftermath of a major incident affecting residents or visitors.
Our role
Our role in a major incident is to support the emergency services and then to help return life to normal as soon as possible.
To achieve this, we will:
- Respond to requests from the emergency services to provide assistance to them as required.
- Mobilise our staff to carry out tasks requested by the emergency services.
Depending on the scale and type of incident, this may include:
- Setting up road diversions and traffic management
- Supporting the Fire and Rescue Service during chemical incidents
- Providing specialist advice on matters such as public health and structural stability of buildings
- Setting up reception centres and providing emergency support and general care for people who are evacuated
- Dealing with environmental issues such as coastal pollution
- Co-ordinate the provision of support from the voluntary agencies
- Clear up, restoration and recovery of the scene
- Taking a leading role in helping the community to recover and to return life to normal
Local resilience groups
We are members of the Dorset Local Resilience Forum (DLRF) and the Bournemouth and Poole Resilience Group (BPRG). These are multi-agency groups committed to making Dorset and the Bournemouth and Poole conurbation a safer place by ensuring that we and our partners can respond effectively when incidents occur.
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