Multi-agency and community working in action at Kent flood awareness event

Kent Fire and Rescue Service is holding a flood awareness day for local homeowners and businesses. The event, which will take place in Yalding in Kent on September 18, will give organisations from across the county the opportunity to outline the role they and residents can play during flood conditions.

Paul Ramsden, Station Manager at Tonbridge Fire Station, is coordinating the day. He told FIRE: "The main aims are to show residents how they can plan for and deal with flooding and its aftermath, in order to try and reduce the potentially catastrophic results of incidents of this nature. KFRS and its colleagues from other organisations are also there to illustrate how we can support residents and what resources we have to help deal with incidents of this kind. It is vital that home and business owners equip themselves with the knowledge of what could happen during a flood and we hope that this event will go some way towards achieving that."

Tonbridge Fire Station's new inland boat, a fire engine, a community safety unit showing video footage of flooding, and Kent's USAR team will be there on the day. They will be augmented by numerous displays from the Environment Agency, Kent Police, the National Flood Forum, Maidstone and Tonbridge, and Malling Borough Council Emergency Planning teams, and Golding Homes.

Geraldine Brown, Chairman of Yalding Parish Council, said: "We have been so impressed by the huge improvement in communications between agencies and with the general public since the floods that devastated much of Kent and Sussex in 2000. We willingly agreed to support KFRS and host this event."

Mark Douch, Environment Agency Flood Risk Manager for Kent and East Sussex, said: "We are very pleased to be working with Kent Fire and Rescue Service to help people understand what they can do to protect themselves from flooding and are prepared in case it does happen."