Somerset emergency services hold joint safety awareness event
Seven emergency services from across Somerset are to hold a joint safety awareness event in Burnham-On-Sea on Saturday July 16th, giving the public a chance to learn more about their vital life-saving work.
ESCAPE, the Emergency Services Community Awareness and Promotion Event, will be held on Burnham seafront between 10am and 4pm.
The region’s leading emergency groups will be attending, including the Coastguard, Burnham-On-Sea Hovercraft, Burnham-On-Sea RNLI, Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Somerset Fire and Rescue Service and St John’s Ambulance.
Vehicles from each service will be on display and life-saving demonstrations will be given by each of the crews to provide the public with a rare chance to see their work close-up.
At 11am there will be a mud rescue exercise involving the hovercraft and Coastguard and then at 2pm there is scheduled to be a fly-past by an RAF Rescue Helicopter followed by an exercise in Bridgwater Bay with the RNLI, demonstrating how water rescues are carried out.
The group that operates Burnham’s rescue hovercraft, BARB, is organising the event, having successfully launched it in 2004 when hundreds of supporters came along.
Organiser Nigel Marshall from BARB said: “This year’s event is even bigger than last year – we have more rescue services involved, more crew members, and the event is being given extra space along the seafront.”
Press officer Mark Newman added: “It will be a great opportunity to meet the rescue crews from seven different emergency services and see how they save lives across Somerset. It should be an interesting and fun day for visitors of all ages.”
The event is one of several sea-themed events being held across the UK this year as part of Sea Britain 2005, a national maritime celebration. The event is celebrating the many ways in which the sea touches people’s lives. You can read more here.
RELATED LINKS:
Download the 2005 ESCAPE Day Programme here [PDF Document]
