Agencies from across the north west join forces for major incident training exercise
Agencies from across the north west, including Greater Manchester Police, Counter Terrorism Policing, North West Ambulance Service, and Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service, participated in a three-day national training exercise to test joint preparedness for a major incident. The exercise, coordinated by CTP’s Operational Development Unit, involved a simulated incident in Bury and tested specialist resources across multiple locations. The event was deemed a success, with plans to further strengthen response models.
Multi-Agency Drill Declared a Success
Manchester, 30 June 2025 — A three-day national training exercise that brought together police, fire, ambulance and military teams from across the North-West has been hailed as “an outstanding success” by senior officers.
The scenario began on the morning of Tuesday 24 June with a simulated major incident at Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service’s training centre in Bury. Over the next 72 hours the drill moved through Manchester city centre, Blackpool’s sea-front and a brief deployment in London, ending at 14:00 on Thursday 26 June.
More than 500 personnel were involved, including:
- 150 specialist firearms officers from Counter-Terrorism Policing
- 12 Hazardous Area Response Teams (HART) paramedics
- 80 firefighters and USAR (urban search-and-rescue) technicians
- A 40-strong Royal Marines chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) detachment
- Volunteer “casualties” drawn from local universities and community groups
Key test elements
- Simultaneous multi-site response
- Cross-border command-and-control between Greater Manchester, Lancashire and the Met
- Live-time intelligence sharing via the new Emergency Services Network (ESN) radios
- Deployment of the military’s “Dragon” drone for aerial reconnaissance
- Mass de-contamination of 200 “casualties” on Blackpool beach
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts, who directed the exercise, said:
> “This was one of the largest multi-agency exercises the UK has staged in recent years. It allowed us to stress-test every layer of our response, from first-on-scene medics right up to strategic gold command.
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> “Crucially, we practised working with the military under the new MACA arrangements, and we proved that blue-light services can integrate seamlessly with Defence assets when the situation demands.”
No genuine emergency calls were affected; all activity was clearly sign-posted as “TRAINING” and local communities were warned in advance via social media and local radio.
The exercise concluded with a hot-debrief in Manchester where each agency presented three “lessons identified”:
- A single digital mapping platform saved an estimated 30 minutes in resource deployment time
- Joint logistics hubs removed duplication of tents, generators and catering
- Mental-health triage teams for responders will be included in future plans
Next steps:
- A formal written report will be sent to the Home Office by the end of July
- Selected elements will be re-run as a table-top exercise in September for agencies that could not attend
For further information contact:
GMP Media Office - 0161 872 5050 / [email protected]
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