A tabletop exercise took place at No6 Convent Place last week. The exercise was coordinated by the Office of Civil Contingencies to test Gibraltar’s capabilities in the event of a major fire in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.

The Minister with responsibility for Civil Contingencies, Leslie Bruzon, oversaw the exercise which included participation from senior representatives of the Gibraltar Fire and Rescue Service, Royal Gibraltar Police, Gibraltar Health Authority Ambulance Service, Airport Fire and Rescue Service, No.6 Press Office, AquaGib and the Department of Environment’s Upper Rock Manager and Shift Supervisors.

Civil Contingencies Coordinator, Ivor Lopez, said: “It is very important to carry out these exercises so we can test our capabilities and update our response plans whenever we identify risks that could make the task of emergency services even harder, especially in this context where accessibility to and from the Nature Reserve could be seriously affected”.

The Minister with responsibility for Civil Contingencies, said: “We must continue to test our multi- agency approach when facing emergencies, as in the unfortunate event of a real-life incident. Our success will be measured on the Emergency Services ability to respond efficiently. I thank the Civil Contingencies Team for coordinating this table-top exercise especially in the lead up to summer where a risk of fire in the Nature Reserve is amplified”.