A massive flood exercise put Calder Valley fire crews through their paces.
Operation Calderdale16, in the wake of the devastating Boxing Day flood last year, was the biggest exercise of its kind for West Yorkshire Fire Service.
Held on Friday, it included a barge rescue from the Calder and Hebble Navigation, the pumping out of flooded cellar and the testing of all of Calderdale’s eight flood sirens.
The exercise also featured the deployment of sandbags, community hubs, flood wardens and a new radio network.
The event was organised by Calderdale Council in case of a repeat of last Christmas’s flood which left swathes of the valley under water.
Council leader Tim Swift said: “The council and our partner organisations have been working hard since the Boxing Day 2015 floods to ensure that our response is as effective as possible if Calderdale floods again.
“This work was put to the test, and it was pleasing to see such a thorough, coordinated team effort from all of the services involved.
“It’s really important for us to keep learning and reassuring local people that we’re doing all we can to be prepared for any future incidents. We will be doing a detailed evaluation of the training exercise to identify any changes that we need to make to our procedures.”
