About emergency planning

The one thing you can be sure of in an emergency is that it will be the last thing you expect. We recognise that there is a need for effective planning for civil emergencies. We need to ensure an efficient and speedy response to these incidents between all the possible agencies:

• The Police;
• The Fire Brigade;
• The Ambulance Service;
• The Council;
• The utility providers; and
• The voluntary agencies.

We work in partnership with Cumbria County Council Resilience Unit to prepare and plan for dealing with emergencies. We provide our staff with plans, procedures and information to enable them to improve the effects of any major emergency occurring. By doing this, we help core services to continue to provide, as far as possible, their usual day-to-day services.

Our Emergency Plan sets out information and procedures to ensure a timely response to an emergency. This reduces to a minimum the distress and disruption caused by such an incident.

Read our Emergency Response Plan (excluding Appendices) (PDF: 495Kb / 36 pages)

Councillors' roles in an emergency

Read useful key points for councillors for their role in an emergency.

Dealing with an emergency

It is important to be ready to follow the instructions from the Police and other emergency services. Planning for an emergency is never easy. No-one can predict what might happen. It will almost certainly mean the Police, Fire Brigade and Ambulance Service are in the front line of a tough situation.

Although every incident is different, the emergency services operate in accordance with principles set out in the General Emergency Plan. We constantly update these procedures. We will mobilise, where appropriate, the necessary officers.

Public utilities, voluntary organisations and many businesses also have their own emergency plans. An emergency incident might mean evacuating an area and providing temporary accommodation. We may need to set up Reception Centres. Anxious relatives will want information. Arranging all of this is the job of the emergency services, who we will support.

See Emergencies and Your Safety on the Cumbria County Council's website for information on community safety, emergency services, severe weather, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, preparing for emergencies and trading standards.

Preparing for emergencies

See preparing your community for an emergency on Cumbria County Council website.

Television and radio: warning the public

In major emergencies, it may be necessary to issue warnings and advice to the public. Radio and television stations would broadcast these. Remember to cater for power cuts. You should have a battery-operated radio. You should know how to tune into your local stations.

Major hazard sites

The law requires some industries to inform people living in the immediate vicinity of hazardous sites. There are no such sites in Eden District.