DCRF Forum, September 2024
Resilience Forum
THursday 26th September 2024
The latest DCRF forum event took place at Crediton Rugby Club.
Many thanks to our guests and their informative and thought-provoking presentations. This round-up gives a brief presentation of each, highlights some of the reports, websites and agencies they referred to along with links to other organisations mentioned.
For more information about Devon Community Resilience Forum, check our
Summary of presentations
There is a short summary of each presentation with a link to the slides below.
- A bomb in my backyard: managing a major incident Emergency response - Plymouth UXO Rest Centre
- Learning from the past: Flooding in Devon; historic, current and future risks.
- Lions: Message in a Bottle
- Farewell to the landline: digital switchover and emergency response
- Getting involved: recruiting volunteers and engaging the community - Lympstone Flood Group
- The Development of Societal Resilience in Dorset - Community Emergency Hubs
There is also a 'jargon buster' at the end of the page to unpack some of the acronyms that were used.
1. There’s a bomb in my backyard!
Debbie Carrig from British Red Cross described the BRC’s involvement in setting up a rest centre for people displaced by the unexploded bomb in Plymouth. As well as describing the planning and logistics that went into setting up the centre, she illustrated the human impact of such events in the tale of the missing teddy.
Key points:
- Multi-agency coordination was key to success - ‘dynamic use of each other’s strengths’
- BRC and other agencies are ‘stood up’ by local authority if they judge it to be a major incident
2. Learning from the past
The Environment Agency’s Chris Khan gave us a fascinating, photographic review of Devon floods from the distant past to the very nearly present. His colleague Tom Dauben outlined future risks and some of the ways that the EA is tackling them. This included a short video showing global increases in temperature from 1880 - 2017.
Key points
- Modelling shows that rainfall and peak river flow are set to increase – perhaps dramatically, by the 2080s.
- Defence systems reduce but cannot eliminate the chance of flooding.
- Having an emergency plan is a vital part of preparedness for risks, including flooding.
- July and August are peak months for serious flash flooding
Useful links
- Long term flood risk: Check the long term flood risk for an area in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- Flood risk map for planning: Flood map for planning - GOV.UK (flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk)
- Bude Climate Jury: Home - Bude Area Community Jury on Climate Change (budeclimatejury.org)
- Drainage and Waste Water Management Plan: https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/siteassets/documents/about-us/dwmp/our-plan/our-green-first-framework_final.pdf
PRESENTATION: part 1 | part 2 | part 3
The global temperature anomalies video can be seen on YouTube
3. Message in a Bottle
Ann Whitehouse from Crediton Lions introduced their Message in a Bottle scheme, which enables anyone with a medical condition to ensure that, in the event of an incident, their details are readily available to the emergency services. https://lionsmessageinabottle.co.uk/
Key message
- This simple device could help first-on-scene responders to identify people who may be vulnerable and save lives.
- Lions Clubs undertake many other kinds of voluntary support, including environment, health and wellbeing. For more information go to their website
Revive app: this was highly recommended by several delegates: Learn CPR in 15 minutes | RevivR | BHF - BHF
4. Digital Switchover
Chris Hockley from BT explained the digital switchover process and what would be available to customers when their turn came to switch. Details of town hall events in the South West are at https://www.bt.com/broadband/digital-voice/events and there is general information about the switch at https://www.bt.com/broadband/digital-voice
Key points
- The switch is being phased in, starting with those who have not used their landline for over 12 months.
- Telecare users will only be transferred once their device is tested and works on the new system. If not, they will retain their landline.
- Backup batteries are available in case of power failure
5. Getting involved – engaging the community
Philip Corcos of Lympstone Flood Group described how the group formed and the way they manage and respond to the complex risks created in a coastal community which is also in a rapid catchment area. This involves a team of 20+ hands-on volunteers, with specific roles.
Key points
- Have a plan – what roles are needed and how many
- Use multiple means to reach new volunteers: local press, website, drop-in events, knock on doors, provide advice to residents, be visible when working.
- Start now
6. Community Emergency Hubs
Clare Jennings from Dorset Local Resilience Forum described how they have developed Hubs based on the model developed in Swindon and Wiltshire. She covered: setting up a hub, the roles and responsibilities required and a process to follow during an emergency.
Key points
- Hubs provide a safe place to meet, get information and coordinate the response in an emergency
- A hub can be any community space, and may already serve as a warm/cold hub
- Hubs are scalable for large or small communities, and one hub might serve two adjacent communities
Clare showed the Dorset risk register. This is derived from the National Risk Register (NRR) and is specific to that county. Devon LRF has its own risk register.
The NRR runs to almost 200 pages and is not a recommended starting point for community emergency planning. The Devon LRF risk register contains around 50 risks, many of which are outside the scope of a community emergency plan. It might be of interest to check how the risks you have identified for your own community have been assessed and described.
Jargon Buster
There were several acronyms and references to organisations that you might not be familiar with.
LRF – Local Resilience Forums plan and prepare for localised incidents and emergencies, identify potential risks and produce emergency plans. They are made up of representatives from local public services, including the emergency services, local authorities, the NHS, the Environment Agency and others. These agencies are known as Category 1 Responders, as defined by the Civil Contingencies Act. In Devon our LRF covers Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (DCIoS) - DCIS LRF - Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Local Resilience Forum (dcisprepared.org.uk)
VCSEP – Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership. A network which brings together local, regional and national organisations ranging from nationwide specialist organisations like St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross to local infrastructure and smaller community organisations with varying levels of emergency response and preparedness experience. Sometimes written as DCIoS VCS
RE:ACT - an emergency and crisis response charity, operating in the UK and overseas which deploys the skills and experience of military veterans when people need immediate and urgent relief. REACT | Disaster Response - REACT (re-act.org.uk)