Gibraltar's Emergency Responders Complete Intensive Programme of Multi-Agency Training
Over the past two weeks, more than 80 training places across five specialist courses have been filled by personnel from Gibraltar's emergency services and partner agencies, in a programme designed to strengthen how Gibraltar responds to, and recovers from, a major incident.
The courses were delivered by Carl Daniels MBE, UK Government Subject Matter Expert and former JESIP Deputy Responsible Officer and facilitated by the Office of Civil Contingencies. Together they covered every level of the response, from the first responders and control rooms who shape the opening minutes of an incident, through to the senior leaders who set strategy in the Strategic Coordination Centre.
JESIP Interoperability Leadership Training
On Tuesday 29 September, 23 delegates attended the recently launched Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP) Interoperability Leadership Training course at the John Mackintosh Hall. The new national course has been refreshed to reflect learning from recent incidents and places a strong emphasis on the role of control rooms, on joint understanding of risk, and on applying JESIP routinely and not only when a major incident is declared.
Delegates worked through a rising-tide exercise scenario, applying the reporting format for major incidents (M/ETHANE) and the Joint Decision Model (JDM) model. Agencies represented were the Royal Gibraltar Police, Gibraltar Fire & Rescue Service, Airport Fire & Rescue Service, Gibraltar Ambulance Service, HM Customs, Borders & Coastguard Agency, HM Prison, the Department of Education, the Office of Civil Contingencies, the Gibraltar Defence Police, the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and St John Ambulance.
Medical Incident Command & Triage (MICaT)
From 30 September to 2 October, 12 delegates from the Gibraltar Ambulance Service, Airport Fire & Rescue Service, Royal Gibraltar Police, St John Ambulance, Gibraltar Defence Police and the Office of Civil Contingencies completed the three-day MICaT course at Bleak House. The course covered the command and control of medical incidents using the CSCATTT model (Command & Control, Safety, Communication, Assessment, Triage, Treatment and Transport), the current NHS major incident triage tools, and national clinical guidelines for major incidents and mass casualty events.
The final day concluded with a Mass Casualty Tabletop Exercise, which was also attended by the Gibraltar Health Authority's Director of Operations, Dr Elaine Flores, the Clinical Nurse Manager for Primary Care and Emergency Services, Elaine Ferro, and the Civil Contingencies Coordinator.
JESIP Train the Trainer (T3)
On 5 and 6 October, 10 delegates from the Royal Gibraltar Police, Airport Fire & Rescue Service, Gibraltar Ambulance Service, HM Customs, Borders & Coastguard Agency, HM Prison and the Office of Civil Contingencies completed the two-day JESIP Train the Trainer course at the John Mackintosh Hall. The course qualifies them to deliver the JESIP Interoperability Leadership Training course themselves, significantly increasing Gibraltar's own pool of instructors and ensuring that this training can be sustained locally for years to come.
Strategic Incident Management (SIM)
On 7 and 8 October, 24 senior leaders completed the two-day Strategic Incident Management course. Day one, at the John Mackintosh Hall, covered the roles and responsibilities of agencies and of the strategic commander during a major incident or civil emergency; the planning, implementation and review of civil contingency plans and multi-agency communication strategies; and the legal framework for a civil emergency. On day two, delegates moved to the Strategic Coordination Centre at No. 6 Convent Place for a tabletop exercise that tested the response to a major incident in Gibraltar.
Participants came from the Royal Gibraltar Police, Gibraltar Fire & Rescue Service, Gibraltar Health Authority and Gibraltar Ambulance Service, HM Customs, Borders & Coastguard Agency, the Environmental Agency, the Department of Education, the Office of Civil Contingencies and the Gibraltar Defence Police.
Decision Loggist
A one-day Decision Loggist course was also delivered at the John Mackintosh Hall to 12 delegates from the Royal Gibraltar Police, Gibraltar Fire & Rescue Service, HM Prison, the Department of Personnel & Development, the Department of Education, the Office of Civil Contingencies and the Gibraltar Defence Police. Loggists play a vital role in recording the decisions taken by commanders – together with the information available, the options considered and the rationale for each choice – so that every decision can be explained, reviewed and learned from.
Learning from UK public inquiries
The importance of this training has been widely touched upon in recent UK public inquiries into the emergency response to major incidents, including the Manchester Arena Inquiry and the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. Both identified shortcomings in multi-agency communication, shared situational awareness, joint decision-making and the recording of decisions – the very areas these courses are designed to address.
Looking ahead: an intensive programme of exercises
Building on this training, the Office of Civil Contingencies will continue to lead the delivery of a comprehensive programme of multi-agency exercises between now and the end of the year. These will include:
• a Cyber Security tabletop exercise (TTX);
• a live exercise (LIVEX) at the LNG Terminal; and
• a Marauding Terrorist Attack (MTA) tabletop exercise, followed by a live exercise testing all three levels of command (operational, tactical and strategic).
2027 will see an equally intensive period of multi-agency training and exercising. This continuing cycle of training and testing is critical to assuring Gibraltar's readiness to deal with the wide range of major incidents that could threaten its community.
Minister for Civil Contingencies, the Hon Leslie Bruzon MP, said:
"The safety of our community depends not only on the professionalism of each of our services, but on how well they work together when it matters most. No single agency can manage a major incident alone. That is why this Government is committed to making sure our emergency services and partner agencies train and exercise together regularly, so that Gibraltar is always ready to respond to, and recover from, a major incident. I would like to thank Carl Daniels, the Office of Civil Contingencies and every delegate who gave their time over the last two weeks."
Civil Contingencies Coordinator, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Ivor Lopez MBE, said:
"In the space of two weeks we have trained responders at every level – from the first on scene and those in our control rooms, to the senior leaders who would set strategy as members of the Strategic Coordinating Group. Just as importantly, by qualifying ten of our own people as JESIP trainers, we are building the capacity to keep this training going here in Gibraltar. Plans only work if people know them, have practised them and know each other before an emergency happens. Regular training and exercising is how we make sure of that."
UK Government Subject Matter Expert, Carl Daniels MBE, said:
"Time and again, UK public inquiries – most recently into the Manchester Arena attack and the Grenfell Tower fire – have found that outcomes depend on how well responders communicate, share what they know, understand risk together and record their decisions. These are essential skills that must be practised to become second nature rather than reserved for the rare occasion of a major incident. The commitment shown by every agency in Gibraltar over these two weeks has been outstanding, and the relationships built in these rooms will matter as much as anything taught on the courses."