Flood Deployment
Some of the members of the Serve On team which deployed to flooding in Bedfordshire, including volunteers from our UK Ops team, International Response Team, Dog Team and Rescue Rookies.
With two months of rain falling in 48 hours in parts of Britain, Serve On volunteers were quick to deploy to Bedfordshire in support of the Bedfordshire Local Emergency Volunteers Executive Committee, Central Bedfordshire Council and blue light services as houses, roads and businesses were inundated with flood water.
As soon as a request for help came, members of our UK Ops Team, International Response Team, Dog Team, Command Support Team and Rescue Rookies finished day jobs and headed to our Wiltshire HQ to prepare before mobilising to the affected area.
With the support of understanding employers, and with volunteers giving up their own time, we were able to deploy a team of 11, including eight Water Rescue Technicians, four medics (RTACC through to FREC4), two drone pilots and a search dog.
We were also able to introduce a brilliant mapping and tracking system being developed for us by SarSys to produce flood maps which were distributed across our sector to inform responders and the public and which were a great addition to the BLEVEC sources of information.
Emma Hardy MP, Minister for Water and Flooding learning how Serve On volunteers were helping the Bedfordshire Local Emergency Volunteers Executive Committee deal with flooding in their area
Using our SarSys mapping tool, the Serve On team and three other agencies coordinated and assisted with welfare checks and leaflet distribution at more than 250 at-risk properties, reassuring the community and allowing residents’ concerns to be passed on.
They carried out observation and assessment tasks in flood zones and in at-risk areas close to the flood zones to provide on-the-ground information to the Local Resilience Forum and to local authorities.
They also provided overnight water rescue cover around Leighton Buzzard to help ease the burden on the local volunteer rescue team and to give them some badly-needed downtime.
It was great that Emma Hardy MP, the Minister for Water and Flooding at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, visited the area and got to witness the work of volunteer agencies like our own and to see for herself what a valuable skilled and free asset they are.
Team leader Vern said: “It was a privilege to have the opportunity to be part of such an inspiring multi-agency effort to help the local communities.”
We would like to say a big thank-you to the Meadow Way Community Centre and staff for looking after the team between tasks and the Tiddenfoot Leisure Centre and staff for allowing them to use one of its studios to get some rest and refreshments.
We would also like to congratulate Midshires Search and Rescue and Beds & Cambs 4x4 Response for the amazing work they did across the county and that we were proud to support.
With more flood alerts issued, our teams remain on stand-by to respond if needed again and we are well aware that there are still plenty of agencies across Bedfordshire, and in other flood-affected areas, doing great work.
It was great to talk to volunteers from Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, the local Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and REACT Disaster Response, just to name a few.
We would also like to thank all those who donate money to Serve On as we are not funded by government and our volunteers could not do what they do without the grants, donations and sponsorships that keep the charity running and our members properly equipped.
If you think that you can help, let us know. And if you would like to help out and have fun at the same time, there is still time to sign up for Rescue Racing – the first Rescue-themed adventure race for ordinary people. darkswan.uk/pages/rescue-racing
Environment Agency video of flooding in Bedfordshire which Serve On deployed to and Water and Flooding Minister Emma Hardy MP visited