Multi agency exercise – Haytor

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On Saturday 20th March, Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team Ashburton joined a Devon and Cornwall Police led multi-agency missing person and search and rescue exercise at Haytor. At this COVID secure event the Ashburton team were joined by a raft of other emergency services and other volunteer agencies including HM Coastguard (with teams from Teignmouth, Beer and Exmouth), Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue (Urban Search and Rescue Team), our sister Dartmoor Search and Rescue Teams (from Plymouth, Tavistock and North Dartmoor), Cornwall Search and Rescue(teams from East and West Cornwall), Devon and Cornwall 4x4 Response and Torbay Rapid Relief Team UK . Due to the pandemic this has been the first opportunity for critical multi agency training in almost a year and a vital part of ensuring we continue to work to together seamlessly.

Police Search Manager, PC Stu Mines said “This exercise was designed to replicate a potential scenario that our services could be called to respond to and the aim is to test the management processes and response to a large-scale search for vulnerable missing people”.
The exercise, the largest of its kind in several years, involved over 150 personnel from seven different agencies. Fourteen search and rescue teams containing almost 100 personnel were deployed into search areas in the Haytor area. Those involved were presented with a number of training scenarios including missing hillwalkers, a walker who had suffered a medical emergency, a fallen climber and a missing child with an injured parent.
The Dartmoor Search and Rescue Ashburton Search Managers involved said “This was an excellent opportunity to exercise with our sister Dartmoor teams and other agencies on a large-scale operation. The invaluable experiences and lessons learnt from the exercise will be fedback into our operational procedures for any large multi-agency incidents in the future”.