Exercise USAR Cymru 2009 in Neath Port Talbot

Emergency services and key partners will be practising their response to a major incident tomorrow (Saturday 21 November).

All agencies are required to regularly exercise their emergency plans to ensure an efficient response to major emergencies.

A fictitious incident will occur and emergency services personnel and local authority colleagues will respond and enact their major emergency plans to deal with the incident.

Approximately 60 simulated casualties will be in place to test the response of all the agencies, which include the Welsh Fire Service Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, South Wales Police, Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, Neath Port Talbot Local Authority, 160 Brigade (Wales), 203 (Welsh) Field Hospital (V), St John Ambulance Cymru and the British Red Cross Society.

Eric Bellew, Welsh Urban Search and Rescue Team Manager, said: "This is the largest exercise of its kind to be run in South Wales this year and it will provide all partners with an opportunity to practice our combined response to a large scale emergency.

"We all hope these types of incident will never occur, but we must be prepared to respond in the event of one happening. The public need to be assured that their local emergency services and other key partners have robust plans in place and that these are practiced on a regular basis."

The exercise will take place in the Jersey Marine area off the public highway, and The Quays at Briton Ferry will be used during the exercise as a Survivor Reception Centre., but the public should be assured that any perceived increase in sightings of emergency service vehicles is in relation to this exercise.