Support » Testing & Review

However good the Plan and however helpful the group found the training sessions to be, there’s nothing like a ‘rehearsal’ to make sure volunteer wardens feel confident in tackling the real thing. Severe weather does not respect daylight hours and volunteers can feel quite disorientated working for the first time in darkness, wind and rain. It’s also a good opportunity to make sure that PPE and communication systems are working well.

You might start with a desktop exercise. This is an opportunity to fine tune what you’ll be doing and communicate your Plan to the wider emergency response sector who will support your community in an incident.

Once the group has a clear idea of how to respond and you are confident that the appropriate PPE is in place, we can work with you to organise a ‘live’ exercise with all group members working out in their areas of the community in darkness. Many groups time this exercise for the autumn when the evenings are drawing in and before the winter weather sets in. Check the forecast and be brave – it makes a difference to do it when it’s actually raining!

We deliver live exercises using the Flood Plan to formulate scenarios that are specific to your area. We will invite representatives from the Environment Agency and Cornwall Council’s Emergency Management team. The group will split up and discuss their response to the different scenarios, practice reporting issues to relevant agencies as well as going out and about to visit sites at risk of flooding. This is a great opportunity for the group to identify any gaps in their plan and to get some realistic practice of what to do in an emergency. The training and live exercises predominantly focus on flooding; however, the skills and knowledge communities gain provides them with the ability to work together to react to other emergencies.

Finally, make sure you keep your Plan as a living document. Review it at least once a year with your group and take into account any new risks that may have emerged.