At just after 22:30hrs on Monday 22nd May 2017, a suicide bomber detonated an improvised device at the Manchester Arena in the UK where around 14,000 people, mainly teenagers and family, had travelled from across the UK to attend the concert of Ariana Grande.
The bomb killed twenty-two people including many children. Over one hundred were physically injured and many more suffered psychological and emotional trauma. The Manchester Arena attack was the deadliest in the UK since the London bombings on 7th July 2005. Although the Greater Manchester Resilience Forum had done many planning exercises, the events of 22nd May were something none of those involved had ever encountered. This was a real-world test of the plans and assumptions.
My Guest today John Fletcher, with over 28 years’ experience as a uniformed manager with Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service & was the lead NILO (National Inter-agency Liaison Officers) during the Manchester attack. John takes us through the events of the 22nd of May drawing lessons learned as we dip in and out of different reports overlaying his own experiences and recollections of the event.
To listen to all other episodes please visit: https://linktr.ee/the_firefighters_podcast
You must be logged in to post a comment.