Brentford host ‘major incident’ training with Met Police | OneFootball

Brentford Football Club hosted a ‘major incident’ training event alongside emergency services partners at Gtech Community Stadium last month.

The exercise, organised by the Metropolitan Police, involved security and stewarding staff from Brentford, as well as colleagues from a range of ‘blue light’ services.

This was the second in a series of command post exercises scheduled at football clubs across London. Each exercise is designed to immerse those taking part in a real-time scenario and test how emergency service personnel and commanders respond to various, spontaneous major incidents such as terror threats and large-scale medical emergencies.

Dave Gregg, Brentford’s head of operations and safety, said: “It was an invaluable experience interacting with the emergency services, gaining insights into best practices for incident management and response.

“We are grateful for the opportunity so that we can continue to enhance our skills to serve our community and fans.”

Chief superintendent Kris Wright, from the Metropolitan Police, who is the exercise director added: “I’m delighted we’ve been able to work with Brentford as part of our ongoing efforts to make sure we’re prepared to respond to a variety of incidents, including scenarios resembling terrorist incidents.

“This kind of work is vital to ensure the officers and staff involved can practice in a safe way, building their capability and experience so that, if anything happens for real, they are prepared to respond in the best possible way.

“This is ultimately about keeping people as safe as possible when they come to big events across London and it’s fantastic to see Brentford making the safety of their fans and local community a top priority.”

As well as club staff, matchday partners and police, the exercise also included personnel from the London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service, Safety Advisory Group from Hounslow Council, British Transport Police, English Football League and Transport for London.

How to report suspicious behaviour on a matchday

The exercise and scenarios were not carried out in response to any specific threat. However, fans at the Gtech are reminded to report anything that doesn’t feel right to a steward.

You can text BFC followed by your message to 62277 to notify our operations team. There is also a QR code on the back of every seat in the stadium bowl that you can scan to make a report to our team. Alternatively, email report@brentfordfc.com with as much detail as possible.

In an emergency, always dial 999. To make a report to the police, go to www.gov.uk/ACT or call 0800 789 321.