Sam Grashoff

Said the following about Heathrow Rail Operations:

“Heathrow Rail Operations Team identified an opportunity to work with Heathrow Business Resilience, Metropolitan Police and train operators to deliver an immersive and challenging exercise in which the response to a Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, Nuclear [CBRN] incident was tested. Although the UK’s threat level remains at severe, the exercise was not carried out in response to any specific intelligence or threat.

Heathrow Rail hosting the operation meant that not only did the Heathrow Rail Team need to participate in the exercise, as responders to test process and procedures , they also needed to ensure that the safety and security of the people participating in the sub surface station. Through leadership from the safety, security and resilience manager a robust plan was developed and the opportunity to participate was opened out to approximately 30 people from the rail team who formed multiple teams to either participate playing in the exercise or to be on site to respond to any ‘real life’ evacuation or issue.

The scenario provided valuable learning both in terms of the nature of the incident and the challenges brought about by the location. The team worked hard to ensure that the requirements of multiple stakeholders were met and that the safety and security of those participating in the exercise was at the heart of decision making.

The scenario involved police, fire and ambulance staff responding together when a biological substance was released aboard a train inbound to Heathrow. The exercise also provided the opportunity to test the use and deployment of decontamination procedures. Individual members of the Heathrow Rail team took it upon themselves to develop presentations and provide their feedback and thoughts about being involved to colleagues who had not had the opportunity, such was the passion to share their learning and help their colleagues learn as much as possible from such a large scale event.

Exercise Gator, created a fully immersive planned exercise experience across areas of the airport after operating hours. Volunteers and colleagues who work at the airport took part in the command and control element of the exercise. The exercise had approximately 300 people taking part across the live exercise play area, the Heathrow command centre and the MPS Specialist Operations Room.

Metropolitan Police Chief Superintendent Dawn Morris said: “This is the first time we have been able to carry out a live exercise inside an airport rail connection hub and the experience and learning gained from this is invaluable.

“The exercise tested our joint response to dealing with a CBRN exposure in a controlled and safe environment. This is important as it will help officers and staff be better prepared should we ever face this type of challenge for real. It also gave us the opportunity to highlight the advice to ‘remove, remove, remove’ in the event of exposure to a hazardous substance.

“I must stress, however, that the exercise has not been designed with any specific threat in mind either in terms of the hazardous material element, or the location.”

Chris Garton, Chief Operating Officer at Heathrow, said: “The safety and security of our passengers, airport colleagues and neighbours is our utmost priority and this exercise is a key part of preparing an effective response, if the worst should happen at Heathrow or any other UK airport. Planned exercises like Gator allow Heathrow, its partners and the authorities to identify areas to strengthen and collaborate on, so the likelihood of an incident like this taking place can be even further reduced.

“Our focus on health and safety is not just the right thing to do, it is the foundation of an efficient operation, a secure airport and a sustainable business."“