Israeli embassy in London hosts hazardous chemical incident training
Emergency teams in bio suits descended on the Israeli embassy in a training exercise for a hazardous chemical incident.
Emergency teams in bio suits descended on the Israeli embassy in a training exercise for a hazardous chemical incident.
A cordon was put in place and decontamination tents were erected at the back of the building in central London, yards from Kensington Palace.
Paramedics in full bio suits treated “casualties”, played by members of the Royal Military Police, who were put through decontamination showers.
Police, paramedics and fire crews all took part in the event on Sunday to test the emergency service reaction to an attack or accident involving a toxic substance.
Commander Adrian Usher, head of the Met’s Royalty and Specialist Protection, said heavy snow and icy conditions were an added challenge for the crews.
“The weather, which is exactly the sort of variable you can’t predict, gave us challenges in terms of the number of staff that we could actually deploy from all of the emergency services,” he added.
“Getting people to the scene was really tricky but that is exactly the sort of thing that throws up challenges that we would never plan for.”
He said it is “absolutely vital” that emergency services can practise for a real crisis.
Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
“Of course it’s exactly the sort of exercise that everybody is praying never happens for real but if it does we take what we’ve learned from today and it puts us in a far, far better place to react should something like this happen in the real world,” he added.
“A hazardous substance incident could have been caused by all sorts of reasons in the real world – some of them criminal, many not.”
He continued: “Throughout this year we have seen many occasions when the emergency services have been tested for real and (this sort of exercise) has proved a really, really vital part of delivering these things safely for the public.”
The exercise was planned months in advance and was not held in response to any specific threat.
It comes at a time of tension in the Middle East over US president Donald Trump’s announcement that he is recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Commander Usher said: “This was not in any way connected with geo-political events – we are very, very grateful to the Israeli embassy to have agreed to step up and take part in this, to allow us to practice at a protected secure premises.”
Israeli ambassador Mark Regev said: “This is an example of the cooperation between this embassy and the emergency services.
“It’s a good manifestation of the sort of good and healthy cooperation we have and represents a very positive relationship we have between the two countries.”
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Mark Regev, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
-
- Members of the police, fire brigade and ambulance service during a joint exercise to test their response to a ÔHAZMATÕ type ncident involving a hazardous substance, at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, London. Photo credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
