London’s Canary Wharf hosts largest ever terror attack training exercise
Up to 1,000 emergency service personnel and security personnel descended on London’s Canary Wharf on Sunday for the biggest counter-terrorism training exercise in modern times.
The exercise, codenamed ‘Firebird’, tested response teams including police, firefighters, paramedics and counter-terrorism investigation teams against a simulated predatory terrorist attack. Dozens of actors helped create the scenario, which took lessons from the Manchester Arena attack and used new technologies such as drones.
The exercise was a poignant reminder of the 1996 Docklands IRA bombing in the same area, which resulted in two deaths and more than 100 injuries.
Metropolitan Police Superintendent Kris Wright, who led the exercise, said: “I am incredibly grateful to Canary Wharf for providing us with an iconic site to test these capabilities for what is essentially the largest exercise of its kind I have participated in in modern times.
“It is quite poignant that Canary Wharf, the site of one of the most notorious terrorist attacks London has ever seen, is hosting an exercise where we have convinced ourselves that as this threat evolves, our response and our ability to combat it evolves with it.”
Mr Wright said emergency services would be tested to deal with a range of different attack scenarios.
With the threat level reaching “severe”, there has never been a better time to test emergency services’ responses to any range of threats, Mr Wright said, “whether it’s a predatory terrorist attack with knives, guns, fire, whether it’s the use of vehicles as weapons, even some of the more technical threats we face.”
Experiences from real-life events and previous exercises all fed into the design of the exercise.
Mr Wright said: “A good example would be 10-second triage, which is the emergency services response to how we prioritize and categorize different injuries and care for people in a catastrophic incident.
“This is a lesson learned from the tragic events at Manchester Arena, that everyone in emergency services is willing to come together and work together in a coherent format.”
Organizers also worked with local make-up colleges to create realistic-looking injuries to be treated at the scene.
Mr Wright said: “For me, exercises like this give me the opportunity to test what we already know or where we see learning opportunities, and also to test those new skills.
“The response Londoners see from emergency services and their partners to the most catastrophic events is, in my view, world-leading.
“But we must not become complacent. We must continue to improve ourselves and test ourselves, and that is what we are doing here today.”
The senior official said “everyone has a role to play”, including the public.
“If people find themselves in the middle of terrible events, rest assured that we are coming, we are there to support and help.
“There’s a really well-implemented and understood plan for how we’re going to respond. We’ll be there to help.”
He added: “I would also like to emphasize that this was not done in response to any specific threat or intelligence.
“The terror threat level across the UK has recently been raised to ‘severe’ so we need people to remain vigilant at all times, but I hope this reassures Londoners that we are ready and prepared to respond in the best way possible should the worst happen.”
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said: “Our emergency services are working around the clock to keep us safe. Exercises like this ensure they can respond quickly, effectively and safely if called upon. “I would like to thank all the organizations who took part in this exercise and those who facilitated it.
“We have provided record funding for our world-leading intelligence agencies and counter-terrorism police to protect us from the threats we face.
“The threat of terrorism in the UK is currently at ‘serious’ level, so if you see something that doesn’t seem right, report it to the police – you’ll never waste their time.”
