Monday, 12th February, 2018
Cory Riverside Energy and London Fire Brigade hold fire simulation exercise at Smugglers Way
Cory Riverside Energy (“Cory”) and the London Fire Brigade has successfully completed a fire simulation training exercise at the Western Riverside Transfer Station and Materials Recycling Facility (“MRF”) at Smugglers Way in Wandsworth, South West London, which is operated by Cory.
The exercise took place on Thursday 8 February 2018 and involved rehearsing for multiple incidents across the whole facility. These included fires in the MRF’s waste bunker and the Transfer Station, and a rescue simulation from one of the quayside container cranes.
It was designed to test the speed of response of the fire brigade and familiarise them with the facility. It also allowed Cory to rehearse its own major incident protocols, which included the participation of all staff working at the facility.
As the operator of several major waste processing facilities across London, Cory is uncompromising when it comes to health and safety. It has recently installed new thermal detection cameras, water cannons and specially designed sprinkler systems in the MRF to help prevent waste fires occurring, as well as working with the Waste Industry Safety and Health forum (WISH) to formulate new guidance on waste fires. This is supported by the Health and Safety Executive, the fire services, several other industry practitioners and regulators.
Nicholas Pollard, Chief Executive Officer of Cory Riverside Energy, said: “We are extremely proud to have helped the London Fire Brigade with this exercise, and always welcome the opportunity to rehearse and refine our own major incident response protocols. Such incidents are extremely rare, and we have invested significant resources into mitigating the risk as far as possible, but the safety of our staff and neighbours is our number one priority and we cannot afford to leave anything to chance.
“I would also like to pass on my thanks to all my colleagues for their cooperation during the exercise. It is a testament to their professionalism that it was such a success.”
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “These types of training exercises are valuable to firefighters as they allow us to familiarise ourselves further with large buildings and sites.
“During this exercise, we tested our response to an escalating fire incident at the site which then expanded into a simulation of a rescue from height scenario where a crane operator had become unwell in his cab.”