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I’ve been contemplating what was a very intense few days surrounding the recent events in Keyham in Plymouth – the biggest non-wartime evacuation in the UK . I am Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service‘s Area Manager responsible for response and share here how the power of multi-agency working keeps our communities safe.
The plan for dealing with a second world war bomb changed from potentially detonating in situ, to moving it to the sea for detonation. The residents of Keyham will be eternally grateful with the outcome.
After the initial evacuation, the cordon needed to be extended when it became clear the type of bomb involved and that the military may need to explode the bomb. This meant further evacuations. The residents of Keyham were amazing, leaving their homes for days, and overall supporting our efforts.
Although there were some frustrations about how long the residents were being asked to leave their homes, there was understanding and good spirit. This is a great reflection on the community and people of Keyham.
After intense work on working out those that couldn’t or wouldn’t leave, re-visits and pleas, eventually we had a clear 150-metre cordon, but still some individuals within the wider 300-metre zone. We put mitigation measures put in place using boarding up and sandbags. fire crews were at the centre of all of it, with intense work by the military to build mitigation around the bomb. More deliveries of sand were planned, utilities were ready to dig up the road to cut off gas mains in the immediate radius of the blast, and the water mains were shut.
The plan came in overnight in the early hours of the second day I received a call to confirm that the extent of the potential damage had been modelled, and further tests on the bomb had reduced the risk of moving the ordnance to tolerable. It clearly still was not without risk and consequence.
Overnight, there was also intense planning and preparation before the plan was presented and signed off by the strategic coordination group.
The signal to go came at about 1030. We had three and a half hours to coordinate and evacuate more than 7500 people in a 300-metre radius along the entire planned route of the bomb, with a planned lift and move time of 1400.
Mustering, organising and briefing the fire crews, military and police as well as volunteers – such as mountain rescue and coastguard – and others, along with a clear tactical plan, logging who had been spoken to, who had left, who had stayed and why, was a challenge for the multi-agency teams.
There were boots on the ground by just before midday, going door-to-door, warning and informing messaging though media outlets, and the first non-test use of the national emergency alerting system. The evacuation was further challenged by the people who couldn’t move or wouldn’t move.
There was Intense activity in the multi-agency hub, with various planning cells working frantically. We had set a tight timeline with some margin as we knew the evacuation would be a challenge. By 1500, we had evacuated over 80 per cent of the residents.
By 1700, every resident had been spoken to, asked to evacuate and presented with the risks of staying, as well as receiving a letter making it clear they needed to evacuate or what the risks were if they didn’t leave.
We had used ours and partners’ vulnerable people lists to evacuate those that were not mobile and couldn’t move themselves. Or, where they couldn’t be moved, created a place of relative safety within their homes.
Rest centres were open. Life didn’t stop for those affected, including a mother giving birth and acute care for the very sick. It all still went on. Schools, GP surgeries, care homes, all had been evacuated and rail lines closed.
With about 130 people left in the ‘can’t move’ or ‘won’t move’ category, and inside the 300-metre cordon and with time fast approaching 1700 the decision was made: it’s now or never.
The operation would be more challenging in the dark and there was a risk that residents might start returning to their homes if they were delayed further. Our operational crews were deployed at strategic locations ready to respond if needed.
We held our breath watching the live drone feed as the military went about their business. Those very brave individuals who had worked night and day, put their lives on the line again for the greater good of others. They were professional and selfless.
They lifted and moved the ordnance along the evacuated corridor to the sea where it was moved to a safe place by boat and destroyed on 23 February.
It was an amazing effort by all involved, not least the residents who were remarkable in their stoicism. Many teams and organisations worked together: the local authority, the volunteers, police, coastguard, ambulance, health, and our own fire crews, who also put together plans should the worst happen, as well as taking a very active part in the coordination and execution of the evacuation.
The military were outstanding, and we should be very proud of them. Almost 80 years after that bomb was dropped on the residents of Plymouth, no doubt on a night when many Plymouth residents lost their lives, this bomb laid dormant, but still deadly.
There are many reasons why some bombs didn’t explode but also many reasons why they can again become lethal. In 2010 in Germany, three bomb disposal experts were tragically killed when a second world war bomb detonated while they were trying to make it safe. Two others were killed in Salzburg in 2003. Others have lost their lives on construction sites as bombs have been exposed.
Thankfully, due to the professional multi agency teams and a few exceptional military individuals, we had a good outcome. No loss of life and all property saved. A job well done. Feeling very proud of our people and all of the teams involved.
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