Fire, floods, flu and food scares….
Just four of the topics that are never far away from the newspaper headlines in a world that seems besieged with potential natural and man-made disasters. With gales battering our coasts, climate change clouding our skies and the dire spectre of terrorism darkening our doorways, there’s certainly a lot to think about.
But, says Wigan Council’s cabinet lead for emergency planning, we can weather those storms. Cllr Ged Bretherton says: “It’s possible that with a bit of foresight and common-sense, we can cope with many of the adversities that come our way.”
The council and emergency responders in Wigan Borough are hoping to prove exactly that when the borough looks at Community Resilience during the now annual ‘Wigan Resilience Week’ .
The week begins at Wigan Fire Station on Saturday 25 August with a variety of demonstrations from 11 am and 4 pm. Visitors will be shown how services respond to road traffic accidents.
The deliberate starting of wheelie bin fires is a growing problem across the borough and visitors will be shown the life threatening consequences of them. Bolton Maintain Rescue Team will also be there demonstrating their professional and lifesaving abseiling skills.
The week rounds off in Wigan town centre on Friday 31 August. A number of different emergency response organisations will be showing off their rescue equipment and experts will be available to answer any questions the public may have. And the NHS will be demonstrating their mobile decontamination unit which would be deployed in the event of an industrial accident or even a terrorist incident.
Cllr Bretherton adds: “Please come along to the fire station event or to the town centre next on Friday week. We look forward to seeing you there. Check online for advice on how to keep yourself ready – whether it’s getting ready for winter driving or ensuring you have some sandbags in, we can all do our bit to identify local risks and be prepared.”
