Civil emergencies

Beds and Luton Local Resilience Forum

The Bedfordshire and Luton Local Resilience Forum (BLLRF) has been established as one of many Regional Emergency Forums in existence around the Country. These Forums enable local responders to co-operate with one another to enhance co-ordination and efficiency, a key requirement of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.

Large scale emergencies / major incidents rarely occur but by planning ahead it is possible to reduce the effects and lessen the impact such events can cause. BLLRF co-ordinates the response to such incidents.

BLLRF (formally BESMIC – Bedfordshire Emergency Services Major Incident Committee) brings together all the Bedfordshire Local Authorities, the Emergency Services, the local Health Authorities and other organisations required to respond to a major emergency within Bedfordshire (see below for an expanded list).

All of the services and organisations that make up BLLRF work to a set of common objectives, with the aim of:

Preventing the escalation of the disaster
Saving life
Relieving suffering
Restoring normality as soon as possible
Protecting property
Facilitating a criminal investigation and judicial process if necessary.

To enable agencies to respond immediately and effectively to a range of incidents/threats, BLLRF members work closely together to produce specific and detailed plans which are regularly tested and updated. BLLRF has produced and continually revised plans for the following areas:

Flooding
Mass Evacuation
Emergency Rest Centres
Temporary Mortuaries
Rabies
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear
Epidemic Outbreak
Food Alert System

BLLRF Exercises

Earlier this year a BLLRF emergency planning exercise took place on the 17th and 18th June 2005 and was code-named ‘Exercise Full Spate’. The exercise was designed to test the Bedfordshire and Luton Flood Response Plan, and to explore the communications between a range of different agencies/organisations responding to a major flood event within Bedford Borough. The two day exercise was held at a range of locations and involved over 130 participants.

The latest major BLLRF exercise took place in October 2005 and was code-named ‘Icarus’. This exercise tested the response process of a range of organisations to an aircraft crash in the vicinity of Luton Airport.

BLLRF Member Organisations include:

Bedfordshire Police, Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue, Beds and Herts Ambulance and Paramedic Service, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority, Bedfordshire and Luton Mental Health & Social Care Partnership NHS Trust, Bedford Primary Care Trust, Heartlands Primary Care Trust, Luton Primary Care Trust, Luton and Dunstable Hospital, Bedford Hospital, Bedfordshire County Council, Bedford Borough Council, Mid Bedfordshire District Council, South Bedfordshire District Council and London Luton Airport.

Combined Response to Emergencies in Bedfordshire ( 1444 KB ) - DOWNLOAD

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