Flood Alert Update....

Flood Alert is still in place for Bradford on Avon. A CEV Coordinator has checked the Town Bridge, Bullpit, and Barton Farm and all are currently fine although the river has risen above normal levels overnight due to yesterdays rain. Currently levelling off although more rain expected over the next few days so Alert liable to stay in force for the next couple of days. For more information on River Levels go to the Environment Agencies River Level monitoring site which also links into their Flood Warning service:

http://apps.environment-agency.gov.uk/river-and-sea-levels/120718.aspx?stationId=3016

Will keep you up to date when we have more information


Kind Regards




Paul Robertson


Senior CEV Coordinator

Flood Alert - Bradford on Avon

A Flood Alert has been issued for Bradford on Avon tonight by the Environment Agency. Currently levels are steady but likely to rise as the catchment drains from todays rain. The CEV Coordinators are currently monitoring but no further action is expected to be taken tonight.

Will keep you updated


Kind Regards



Paul Robertson


Senior CEV Cooridnator

How can my community prepare for Severe weather...?

With the current flooding in Northern England along with other severe weather events effecting our communities more often due to the potential effects of climate change it can be very worrying for communities who live and work near rivers and coasts. Whilst setting up a community group cannot prevent flooding it can help communities be better prepared, reducing the initial impact of an event, and ensure the community recovers more quickly from the incident. Locally trained and organised volunteers are also invaluable to the local emergency services who find the local knowledge of the community invaluable when responding to incidents.

Training of volunteers is key

 



Whether you wish to concentrate on multiple issues effecting your community or a single main issue the most important first step is contacting your local Council or in the case of flooding The Environment Agency. They can help provide support in terms of funding, equipment, and training.

 

We have also taken on other roles to try and ensure that we make the most of our volunteers such as Snow Wardens, Utilities Wardens, and crowd marshalling at local events, but you don't have to be so ambitious for your scheme as every situation is different.

 

Supporting our local community

 

So if your community is at risk there is something you can do. Either start or join a community flood warden scheme. Contact your local Councils Emergency Planning Department or your local Environment Agency Community Officers for further information and help

 

Kind Regards

 

 

Paul Robertson

 

Senior CEV Coordinator

Bradford on Avon Flood Alert no longer in force..

Thank fully the flood alert for Bradford on Avon is no longer in force. River levels are gradually falling and weather forecast is brighter for the next few days. Thinking of those not so fortunate further north.


Kind Regards



Paul Robertson


Senior CEV Coordinator

Flood Alert for BoA

A Flood Alert has been issued by the Environment Agency for Bradford on Avon. This is the lowest warning level however those in at risk areas should keep upto date with the latest weather forecast and warning advice from the EA. CEV Coordinators are monitoring river levels and weather forecasts but at this stage we are not proposing on calling out the volunteers as the river level is holding steady and the rainfall over the next 24hrs isn't looking too heavy


Kind Regards


Paul Robertson


Senior CEV Coordinator

We Wish you a Merry Christmas....

Last night was our CEV Christmas Dinner! We had a great meal courtesy of the Dog and Fox on Ashley Road BoA and it was good to chat to my fellow volunteers without the aid of a Powerpoint Presentation!

Our Merry Band

The Volunteers Holding their 'Volunteering Certificate of Achievement'!

 

 

Volunteers received a Certificate of Achievement at the end of the evening to thank them for their attendance at training sessions and hard work over the course of the last 12 months. Don't worry if you weren't there to get yours as I will endeavour to get them through to you

 

 

On behalf of the Bradford on Avon Town Council Community Emergency Volunteers may I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous new year.

 

Kind Regards

 

 

Paul Robertson

 

CEV Senior Coordinator



New CEV Coordinator Page

We have added a new CEV Coordinator page that sets out how we manage an incident and includes links to the standard forms we use. We have also included our Snow and Flood Plans on the Snow and Flood pages which sets out the pre-agreed roles and responsibilities for the CEVs during these events.

I hope you find this information useful or of general interest

Kind Regards


Paul Robertson

CEV Senior Coordinator

1st Birthday!

It is amazing to think that the Bradford on Avon Town Council Community Emergency Volunteers have only been going one year! We have packed so much into our first year including over 20 hours of training, a flooding table top exercise and crowd marshalling at 5 events that raised thousands of pounds for local good causes. We have established great links with over 15 local Cat 1, 2, & 3 responders in our area, and are already setting out our plan for training next year.

We have secured equipment and a storage container to keep it in as well as drawn up rigorous plans and systems for using them.

A big thank you to our volunteers who have 'stuck with the programme' over the past 12 months. Without your support this project would be nothing other than a pipe dream!

So what does the next 12 months have to offer. As well as refresher training to keep our skills up to date and to test our knowledge we also hope to try and undertake a live training exercise this year getting us out and about and testing ourselves in the field.

We are also making a grant application to the SSEPD Community Resilience Fund and if successful will be able to provide significantly enhanced equipment and mobility to the volunteers (Watch this space for updates). 

 

(We hope to Secure Funding For a vehicle next year)

If you want to find an exciting way to give back to your community during its time of greatest need or celebration then why not make your New Year resolution to join the Community Emergency Volunteers! We have vacancies not just for Boots on the Ground but helping the volunteers, whether that is managing equipment, raising funds, or spreading important safety messages on behalf of our partner organisations.

Merry Christmas & A Peaceful New Year to all our readers

Kind Regards

 

Paul Robertson

CEV Senior Coordinator

Table top flood Exercise 'Noah's Ark'

Last night the volunteers had an excellent evening testing our systems with regards the flood exercise. The Environment Agency put our plan through its paces coming up with various scenarios that we needed to react to. It was a fascinating evening with valuable contributions from Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service and the team from Wiltshire Council Emergency Planning. We were also joined by an observer from Bristol City council who are looking to set up similar schemes in Bristol (You were most welcome). Over all our plan seemed to come off well although running through this even as a table top exercise highlighted some valuable lessons and some issues in our systems and communications that still need work on. A big thankyou to Nick Reed from the Environment Agency and all our partner Agencies for making yesterday such a success.

The Team (maps at the ready) waiting to start the exercise

 

 

With all that has been happening in the North of England Scotland and Northern Ireland over the past few days it was a valuable reminder of how important good planning and communication is to cope with extreme weather events

 

 

Kind Regards

 

 

 

Paul Robertson

 

 

Senior CEV Coordinator

 

New Training Diary

Our new training diary for 2016 has been published on our training notes page and the dates have been included in our calendar. Here's looking forward to some fascinating new sessions and refreshing our existing skills next year!

Kind Regards



Paul Robertson

Missing Persons Training Night

Last night was our missing persons training night where WilSAR, our local friendly search and rescue charity, came and talked to us about the exceptionally valuable work they do across Wiltshire helping the Police search for missing people or undertaking rescue work during flooding. These volunteers are exceptionally committed for the unsung and sometimes tragically grim work they have to do having already been called out dozens of times this year alone.

Many thanks to Gail Leaman the Chair of Wilsar for coming and speaking to our volunteers last night and giving us a small insight into how you operate. The was an interesting chat about how we could potentially work together in the future as well.

Gail Explaining to our volunteers what Wilsar is about

Wilsar despit working closely with the police are wholly supported by public donations. If you would like to make a donation to the important work they do or find out more about them please go to their website http://wilsar.org.uk/

Many thanks


Kind Regards



Paul Robertson

 

Fireworks night for local BoA schools...

Last night we had a great evening crowd marshalling for the local fireworks night that was raising thousands of pounds for our local schools. Thousands of people enjoyed a great night out with only one incident very professionally handled by our partners at St John Ambulance. 12 volunteers were out providing a highly visible presence to the evening. This was our biggest evening yet.

Many thanks to all involved in making it such a great and safe evening for everyone.

volunteers ready for their pre-briefing

 



directing the crowds home whilst providing room for the ambulance

 

Kind regards

 

 

 

Paul Robertson 

Are you Flood Ready

With Winter approaching the Environment Agency is campaigning to get our communities flood ready. They are running a Flood Action Campaign between the 2nd and 13th November.

Take a look at their website for more information


Kind Regards


Paul Robertson

table Top Exercise

We are currently arranging a table top exercise with our partners at the Environment Agency in December to test our Flood Plan and see where it can be improved.

Anyone fancy building a model of BoA!

More information will be supplied in due course.

Kind Regards



Paul Robertson

Senior CEV Coordinator

Getting Ready For Winter...

We have now received our Grit Bins from Wiltshire Council as part of our Town Snow Plan. A huge thank you to the Highways team for their help and support in this. Just need to sort out the grit scoops now!

Our newly installed grit bins in place

Please note these grit bins are for CEV use only in accordance with our agreed snow plan. Grit bins for public use are yellow in colour without any padlocks

Kind Regards



Paul Robertson

CEV Senior Coordinator

 

Register with Wessex Water Customer Plus

Wessex Water have a similar scheme to register vulnerable customers 'Customer Plus':

https://forms.wessexwater.co.uk/addressform.aspx?ekfrm=100

If you think you might be eligible or know someone who could be please do fill in the form


Kind Regards


Paul Robertson


Senior CEV Coordinator

Utitlies Training Notes....

Our Utilities training Notes are now up on our blog training page. Please feel free to browse

  


Kind Regards



Paul Robertson


Senior CEV Coordinator

SSEPD Register and App

Two very useful things to do. If you have a smart phone download the SSEPD App http://news.ssepd.co.uk/news/all-articles/2015/01/our-ssepd-powertrack-app/ to keep you up to date on power outages in your area. Also if you know vulnerable people in your area (Elderly, disabled, with babies etc) sign up to the SSEPD Priority Services Register https://www.ssepd.co.uk/PriorityServices/ and they will ensure you are ok in an emergency.

Kind Regards



Paul Robertson

Senior CEV Coordinator

Utilites Training Evening...

Many thanks to Nick and Helen from SSEPD and Lianne from Wessex Water for providing us with such an informative training session last night. Sorry you couldn't make it to the evening yourself Lianne but our best wishes for your speedy recovery from a very nasty cold that has laid you low. I did my best to stand in and all the volunteers agreed it was an interesting evening.

Nick from SSEPD (On the left) explaining about their fine model

A close up of the model showing how their grid works in a crisis

Our resident Electrical Engineer taking a keen interest!

Nick Explaining the finer points of power distribution

 

This was our first meeting back in the Fire Stations rebuilt meeting room and very nice it was to!

 

 

Next month is Wiltshire Search and Rescue - I for one am looking forward to it

 

 

Kind Regards

 

 

 

Paul Robertson

 

 

Senior CEV Coordinator

Wessex Water and SSEPD Confirmed...

Wessex Water and SSEPD have both confirmed they will be at our utilities training night on the 14th October. Looking forward to a very interesting evening chatting about everything electric and water related!

 

Hope to see you there


Kind Regards



Paul Robertson

Big thankyou to the British red Cross...

Many thanks to the British Red Cross for the 5 boxes of flood sacks, 3 boxes of disposable toilets, and one box of fresh drinking water.

A Selection of items delivered from the British Red Cross

 

And how it got to us (via Wessex 4 x 4)

 

Many thanks to Jo at BRC and Norman at W4x4 for helping us out.


Kind Regards



Paul Robertson

Senior CEV Coordinator

New Supplies....

Many thanks to the British Red Cross for supplying us with disposable toilets, bottled water and more flood sacks. This is much appreciated and will help us to have a more effective response to a flood in our community.

Thanks also to Wessex 4x4 for helping to transport the material to our storage container in Bradford on Avon. What a great demonstration of the voluntary sector coming together to build community resilience!

 

 

Kind regards


Paul Robertson

Senior CEV Coordinator

Public Health Training Notes Now Up...

The training notes from last night are now up on our training notes page


Kind regards



Paul Robertson

A Fascinating Evening on Public Health...

Tonight we had Deborah Haynes from Wiltshire Council come to speak to us on Public Health issues including Pandemics, Viruses, and other nasties that could give us all a nasty surprise! Deborah's enthusiasm for her subject really shone through, and it was a really interesting evening to find out just what local Public Health has to plan for and how we might be able to help, from distributing leaflets, acting as flu buddies to helping to man rest centres.

A big thank you to Deborah for sparing an evening to come and talk to us - it was much appreciated and made a nice change from learning about floods and snow!!

Next month is Utilities failures. Wessex water have conformed their attendance. Just need to confirm SSEPD.


Kind Regards



Paul Robertson

Public Health Training Night....

On the 30th September we resume our training nights again and this time we are concentrating on Public Health. Pandemic Flu is the No 1 emergency planning risk so with the benefit of Deborah Haynes from Wiltshire Council's Public Health Team we are going to find out how the different agencies plan for such an event and what we as volunteers can do to help our local communities.

Should be an interesting night!

We're meeting at the Town Hall this month as the Fire station meeting room is currently being renovated

Look forward to seeing you there


Kind Regards


Paul Robertson


Senior CEV Coordinator.

Weather warning for Rain tomorrow...

There is a weather warning for heavy rain over Wiltshire and the South West for tomorrow and into thursday. (See Adjacent Met Office Weather warning widget. Take care when driving and avoid driving through flood water if you come across any.

Keep safe out there


Kind Regards



Paul Robertson


Senior CEV Coordinator

The Emergency Services Show 2015....

Had a great time at the Emergency Services Show 2015 today. Bumped into some friends of ours including, Wiltshire Council Emergency Planning Team, The Environment Agency, British Red Cross, and Serve On. Also made contact with Wilsar and Wessex 4x4

 

The British Red Cross Stand (We'll happily take your floodsacks!)

 

The Local Resilience Forum Stand

 

Swindon's Community Resilience Mobile Command Post (Anyone fancy sponsoring one for us!)

 

 

 

The Police Community Volunteers have their own smart Volvo!

 

 

The Wilsar Stand (Hope to see them at our training evening in November)

 

 

Wiltshire Police's new bronze command vehicle (Only on its second outing - smelt very new inside!)

 

 

 

My children thought the best thing of the day was the ice cream and stone baked Pizzas! Oh well - I'll make volunteers of them yet!

 

 

 

Kind Regards

 

 

 

Paul Robertson

 

 

Senior CEV Coordinator



Off to the Emergency Services Show today

Taking the family to the Emergency Services Show at Hullavington Airfield Wiltshire today. Lots to do for all the family! (Should be plentyof big boys toys on show as well! I you are going then pop into the Local Resilience Forum exhibit and see how you can help build community resilience in your local area


Kind Regards



Paul Robertson


CEV Coordinator

Another Road Closure...

We have just completed a second road closure within a week to allow the town bridge lock up to have its official opening after renovation works. The volunteers manned the road closures and kept traffic off the bridge while the ribbon was cut before making sure the public were off the bridge and then allowing traffic to move again. A big thank you to PC Annetts and the team at BoA Police for providing a reassuring presence and offering some wise words of advice. We're starting to build some valuable experience now.

The Morning After...

Sorting out all our PPE after crowd marshalling for the cycle festival this lunch time

From This...

To this...

 

A volunteers work is never done!

 

 

 

An Offical Thank you...

Charlotte Forester from the Cycling Festival Organising Committee has passed on her thanks to all the volunteers who helped with crowd marshalling at the event. I think she'd like us back next year if that's ok with everyone!

Kind Regards


Paul Robertson

CEV Coordinator

A Hard but Rewarding Day....

Our first major test for the volunteers was passed successfully today with the completion of Crowd Marshalling for the Cycle Hill Time Trial. Well done to the volunteers who came out and stood for nearly 5 hours in sweltering conditions (Those waterproof Hi Viz Trousers are a bit of an oven!)

 

Cyclists preparing for the assent

 

Our volunteers telling the public what's going on

 

 

Signs up from Wiltshire Council

 

 

Many thanks to the volunteers for their hard work and well done to the organising team. Plenty of lessons learned for next year!

 

 

Kind Regards

 

 

 

Paul Robertson

 

 

CEV Senior Coordinator

Our First Major Event...

We will be crowd marshalling the local cycle festival and road closure this Sunday 6th Sept. Looking forward to getting out amongst the public and raising the profile of the volunteers. If you're there come and say hello!

Kind Regards


Paul Robertson

Senior Coordinator

A useful contact with the Canal volunteers...

Recently been contacted by the Kennet and Avon Canal volunteers with a view to co-operation in the future. Looking forward to meeting up with their volunteer coordinator in the near future.

The Ace of Spades!

A huge thank you to a local member of our community who has offered us 5 spades that she no longer uses. This saves us a substantial amount of money from our budget that can be spent elsewhere. If you have any old brooms or shovels lurking in your garden shed that you don't need please let us know or drop it off at J Alex Brown Hardware in Silver Street.

 

Thank you for your continued support


Kind Regards


Paul Robertson


Senior CEV Coordinator

August - a quiet month...

Whilst August has been a quiet month for the volunteers training schedule plenty has been happening behind the scenes with applying for funding for equipment and planning for up and coming crowd marshalling events. September is looking like a very busy month for us! Look forward to giving you the lowdown on all our training and other news shortly!


Kind Regards


Paul Robertson


Senior CEV Coordinator

Finalising our flood plan....

This evening we have finalised our flood plan with Renate from Wiltshire Council and Trudy from the Environment Agency. This formally sets out our triggers and roles and responsibilities. Its been a marathon effort putting it all together and major thanks go our partners and Tony one of our volunteers, who has been working on this document for over 12 months.

Renate wants to test us with a table top exercise in the autumn... ...more details to follow

Kind Regards



Paul Robertson

Senior CEV Coordinator

We've secured our Gritbins

After discussions with Wiltshire Councils Highways team we've secured our Grit bins and locations. Thank you so much to Simon Rowe, Chris Clark and the team at Wiltshire Council for their support and help


Kind Regards


Paul Robertson

Senior CEV Coordinator

Trying out our PPE...

Wendy was the brave volunteer last night trying out our winter weather gear on a warm July evening!

Thanks Wendy - and don't worry we have smaller sizes!

Snow Warden Training Night

A big thank you to everyone who came to our Snow Warden Training session yesterday evening. Special thanks to Chris Clark from Wiltshire Councils Highways Team for providing his expert assistance. For those unable to make it our training notes are in the usual place on the blog!

Our training sessions are now having a break through August for our summer holidays, but we'll be back again for training in September.

Still plenty going on in the background though!

Kind Regards (and have a great summer)



Paul Robertson

Senior CEV Coordinator

St Margarets Hall Flood Barrier Training...

Yesterday evening a band of volunteers met at our town hall in Bradford on Avon with the hall management team to practice putting up the flood barriers. They have a metal slotted barrier system which need cleaning and the rubber joints lubricating before we erect them. It was very useful to find out how they work on a warm July evening rather than a cold wet winters night with the river rising!

Barriers are prepared for installation

 

Simon clamping down the barriers

 

A finished barrier ready to face the elements

 

Jennie and Rachel helping to tidy the barriers away

 

 

 

Our First Crowd Marshalling Event....

A damp afternoon by the river was our first outing as Crowd Marshalls to look after the picnickers at the BoA Fringe Festival in the gardens of Kingston House. Well done to Barney, Simon, Mike and John for agreeing to turn up and get wet for the cause, as well as trying out our new kit! Its great to see it being put to use at last. It is also great to be able to make a visible presence in the community and making a positive contribution to events in town.

Mike and John man the gate with a welcoming smile!

 

Barney and Simon keeping an eye on the river (Note throwline at the ready)

The hardy crowds defying the weather to listen to the choirs in the lovely gardens

There are plenty more events scheduled in for the rest of the year but this was a good one to get under our belt...

Kind Regards


Paul Robertson

Senior Coordinator

 

 

7/7 - A personal perspective...

As the UK remembers the events in London 10 years ago I thought I might write a quick personal account. I was working in my office in London on the 7th July just on the edge of the total vehicle exclusion zone. With all the traffic stopped there was just a slow dignified procession of commuters walking out of the city to the waiting buses at the end of our street. I have never known the streets of London so quiet on that day with just the occasional police car breaking the silence. I was an Emergency Services Volunteer for the Salvation Army at the time and spent the next couple of  weekends manning a mobile canteen at Russell Square for the Emergency Services. My admiration for the Police Fire and Ambulance crews and at times the gruesome duties they had to perform over the coming hours, days, and weeks remains undimmed. My most vivid memory and perhaps what brought home to me the individual cost of that day was when the police clearance teams began bringing up personal effects from the underground station such as briefcases, umbrellas and handbags, abandoned by their owners in the panic.

The actions of many individuals and organisations at that time and the memories of the victims have always inspired me to work towards building a more resilient community where ever I have lived and whilst Bradford on Avon is far from London and targets for international terrorism the efforts of all who seek to protect our hard won freedoms inspire me to do my own small share.

Best wishes to you all

Kind Regards


Paul Robertson


Senior CEV Coordinator

The Emergency Services Show | emergencyservicesshow.com

A fun day out for all the family!



The Emergency Services Show | emergencyservicesshow.com

CEV Coordinator Training

A small band of us met at St Margarets Hall yesterday to undertake our CEV Coordinator training. CEV Coordinators are there to manage the volunteers on duty, monitor safety, liaise with other agencies and fill in the paperwork! A very necessary and important job! A big thank you to the six volunteers who have agreed to be trained up for this role. It means our team is much more robust now than it was.

We have now put up the training notes for CEV Coordinators in our training notes to show you are systems.

Hot weather ahead... ..make sure you take precautions

Enjoy the lovely weather we're having but keep safe in the sun...

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Summerhealth/Pages/Heatwave.aspx

Kind Regards


Paul Robertson


Senior CEV Coordinator

Wiltshire Times Article...

Please follow the link to the Wiltshire Times Article on our storage container launch day

Wiltshire Times Article


Kind Regards


Paul Robertson

Our first Shovels...

Our push to get second-hand tools from the local community has born fruit with the first two shovels being dropped off at J Alex Brown (Hardware) in town. Many thanks to James for holding on to them for us. It really is much appreciated! Thank you to whoever it was who dropped it off. Your donation is much appreciated and will be of great help to us!



If you think you might have a spare spade, shovel, broom, or even a sack barrow lurking in the back of your shed or garage that you no longer need do please consider donating it to us

Many thanks


Kind Regards


Paul Robertson

PPE has arrived....

Yes, now there is no excuse not to be dressed like a traffic cone! Our first instalment of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) has arrived from the suppliers and is now safely stored in our storage container. Nearly ready for our first crowd marshalling event on 12th of July.

 

 

We will have to have a trial PPE wearing to see if we can make our Hi Viz look as cool and casual as the adverts!

 

There is still plenty of room in our container for any spare brooms, spades, or shovels. Please do drop them off in town at J Alex Brown Hardware on Silver Street

 

 

Kind Regards

 

 

 

 

Paul Robertson

 

 

Senior CEV Coordinator

First Aid Apps

Following our first aid training our trainer at the British red Cross recommended downloading first Aid Apps onto our smart phones. The British red Cross do both an adult and child first aid app:

British red Cross App

My smart phone is so old and clunky that it couldn't cope with the British red Cross App so I downloaded the St Johns Ambulance App instead which is just as good!

St Johns Ambulance App

You don't need to have done any formal training to use these and they are free to download. GET THEM ON YOUR PHONE! They could help you save a life!


Kind Regards



Paul Robertson


Senior CEV Coordinator