Students take starring roles as fire service stage mock chemical explosion
Students at Harper Adams University played starring roles when Shropshire Fire and Rescue staged a mock chemical explosion at the Newport campus.
They played the part of casualties during a realistic exercise that saw a student protest over the use of pesticides escalate into an explosion in a workshop and a chemical spillage that affected dozens of student protesters. Firefighters were called to deal with the aftermath and dealt with dozens of “casualties.”
The Thursday evening exercise involved firefighters, some wearing protective ‘hazmat’ suits, from Newport, Press, Whitchurch and Hodnet fire stations.
The purpose of the exercise was to provide firefighters with further training in the use of specialist decontamination equipment and systems. At the end of the 90 minute exercise all the student “casualties” were declared fit and well.
Exercise Director, Phil Davies, said: “The students did a great job and helped make the exercise a success. This was the latest in a series of exercises of different kinds that Harper Adams University allows us to stage at the campus. Exercises like this one play an important role in firefighter training and Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service owes Harper Adams University a big thank you for its generous co-operation.”
