Scrap yard and volunteers help stage largest fire service drill for 20 years

The exercise using cars and live actors took place on the grounds of Assington Autos early this month, with the aim of helping firefighters and fire officers to hone their skills.

James Vernon, watch manager at Nayland fire station, who developed the training drill, said: “We set about planning a storyboard consisting of a multi-vehicle road traffic collision and, with the help of Fred at Assington Autos, we set the scene for a five-car incident, with local volunteers acting as live casualties.

"This scenario included placing some cars upside down and in different positions, representing some of the scenes we face on our roads and providing a sense of realism.

"We planned for the casualties to have different scripted injuries, to present our teams with a whole host of challenges to flex their knowledge as well as test the incident commander’s ability to take charge at such a complex incident.”

The drill included live actors and cars. (Image: Daniel Collins)

The drill is the biggest of its kind in two decades. (Image: Daniel Collins)

The fire and rescue service drill was aimed at helping the service demonstrate and hone their skills. (Image: Daniel Collins)

The exercise simulated a five-car incident. (Image: Daniel Collins)

The drill took place on Wednesday, June 1. (Image: Daniel Collins)