The Greater Manchester Emergency Services Liaison Group Meeting takes place on average, quarterly, and involves representatives from the Statutory Emergency Services in Greater Manchester, including GMP, GMFRS, NWAS, and also the North West Air Ambulance Service, meeting with the MRTs that have reason to operate within Greater Manchester, namely Bolton, Glossop, Kinder, Oldham and Rossendale and Pendle, all to discuss primarily how they work with the MRTs, and to develop multi agency working.
From the GMP side, their input is primarily from their Missing Person Search Managers and POLSA’s.
The meetings are rotated around various venues, with tonight’s meeting hosted by the Bolton MRT at our Ladybridge Hall Base / HQ.
Twenty four representatives attended, from GMP (Specialist Search Unit and Missing Person Search Managers), NWAS Operations and ECC Belle Vue, GMFRS, NWAS HART, both Deputy Team Leaders from Kinder MRT, four Deputy and Section Leaders from Oldham MRT, the Team Leader and Deputy Team Leader from Rossendale and Pendle MRT, the Team Leader and Deputy team Leader from Glossop MRT, and our Team Leader, Deputy Team Leader, Training Officer, Chairman and a member of our Water Search and Rescue Unit.
Besides the business of the meetings, we also sometimes have a guest speaker / specialist subject presentation at the commencement of the meeting.
This evening, Austin Lewis of GMFRS, who heads up Water Rescue and Safety for GMFRS, gave the twenty three persons present an informative presentation on general water safety for emergency services personnel.
Subjects covered in his excellent 45 minute presentation included water incident statistics for GMFRS (Circa 350 water related incidents per annum) the prioritised approach to water rescue incidents, swiftwater rescue incidents and examples, zoning of water incidents, common nomenclature and the water incident capabilities of GMFRS.
Throughout his presentation the maxim of personal safety and responding team safety was emphasised, alongside highlighting the dangers of actual water entry during rescues.
Present at tonight’s meeting was former Bolton MRT Team member Chris Moody (also a former GMP Officer and ex serving Police Officer Missing Person Search Manager) who now works in a civilian capacity for GMP.
It was Chris’s first visit to our Ladybridge Hall Base / HQ since we had the signed copy of a team newsletter by Nelson Mandela (See related website article) framed and mounted in our Base / HQ.
Chris having been totally instrumental in obtaining this treasured and very unique feature of our Base / HQ was impressed by how it had been mounted and framed and its prominent position in our Base / HQ.
All present at the meeting which concluded late in the evening were treated to traditional festive fare and drinks ……….. “Who ate all the mince pies!”
