On Monday 29 February fire crews from Avonmouth, Temple and Kingswood attended an exercise at The Bristol Port Company
The ‘Exercise Nelson’ was based on a large commercial vessel, the MV Seawell.
The exercise was designed to test port liaison procedures, use of the Turntable Ladder (TL) for rescue from ships and breathing apparatus and incident command procedures.
The scenario for the exercise involved a report that people had been reported missing following a leak from a bulk CO2 storage tank in one of the cargo holds inside the ship.
On arrival, initial crews liaised with ship personnel so they could begin a search of the ship for casualties. Four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the hold and located a casualty who had injured himself after falling unconscious due to lack of oxygen.
The crews provided first aid and rescued the casualty using the stretcher.
Access on and off the ship was challenging so the TL from Temple Fire Station was utilised to remove the casualty from the ship onto the dockside.
Staff from White Watch Control were involved throughout the exercise taking and recording messages in line with protocols.
Station Manager Jan Morris said: “It was a great opportunity for us to strengthen our working relationship with the Port, as well as giving crews the opportunity to do a live exercise on a large vessel where 
access was difficult in many places. I would like to thank everyone who took part for their efforts in ensuring that the exercise was a success.”
If you are interested in hosting an exercise let us know and we can put you in touch with Jan.