Emergency services are taking part in Europe???s biggest ever disaster training exercise.
Firefighters , police officers and ambulance personnel from across London are taking part in a four-day scenario based upon a building collapsing onto a Waterloo Tube station in the capital.
Hundreds of actors - each with a different story - will help make the scenario as realistic as possible and test the clinical skills of the emergency crews responding to the mocked up disaster .
In order to create the most realistic environment possible, an entire Tube station has been recreated and then ???crushed??? in a disused power station close to the Dartford river crossing.
With over 1,000 casualties, thousands of tonnes of rubble, seven tube carriages and hundreds of emergency service responders, Exercise Unified Response (EUR) has been over a year in the planning.
Participating are a wide range of organisations that are involved in disaster response, such as a number of London local authorities and Transport for London . London???s Air Ambulance is also taking part.
Not only will the exercise provide a realistic training environment for specialist Urban Search and Rescue teams from across the UK but the scale of the incident also gives a chance for specialist teams from the police, ambulance service and local authorities to practise skills and functions.
'Ready no matter what happens'
London Ambulance Service ???s director of operations Paul Woodrow said: ???Over four days ambulance staff will treat hundreds of injuries that would be typical during an incident like this including fractures, broken limbs, head injuries, amputations, spinal injuries and respiratory conditions."
Around 175 clinical staff will attend each day including emergency ambulance crews, paramedics, advanced paramedics, and specialist staff from the Hazardous Area Response Team.
London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson , said: ???Exercises of this scale are important to ensure that we are always ready to respond no matter what happens.
???You can???t get this sort of experience from a text book, we need to play it like it???s real and ensure that should the worst happen, our response is effective and well coordinated.
???It???s fitting that this exercise should be part of our 150th celebrations as it shows how we have developed as a Brigade.???
Mr Woodrow added: ???In the event of a major incident we have clear processes and plans in place including an alert system for staff who have proved they are always willing to support our response - even when not on duty.
???By testing our responses to an incident like this we???ll increase our preparedness for any major incident that affects London. It is also a great opportunity to test how we work with emergency services and all other partners across London.???
EUR is being funded by the European Commission Exercise Program. Teams will also be working alongside firefighters from Italy, Hungary and Cyprus who will also be mobilised to the incident.
