West Sussex Fire & Rescue’s Station Manager Anton Mezzone has spoken at Buckingham Palace, highlighting the importance of joint emergency training.
Chosen by the Royal Household, he presented insights from a large-scale exercise at Chichester Cathedral, which saw fire, police, and ambulance teams simulate a major incident.
The event focused on collaboration, strategic command, and preserving historic sites through advanced firefighting and salvage techniques.
Station Manager Anton Mezzone said: “It was an honour to be invited to Buckingham Palace to share our learning from the training exercise at Chichester Cathedral.
“The cathedral is 950 years old, and the building presents a number of challenges for our crews in the event of an emergency. We have worked hard to adapt our emergency response plans following the Notre-Dame fire in 2019 to ensure this important heritage site is protected.
“During the exercise crews laid almost a kilometre of hose from the canal to the cathedral, navigating the busy streets and a railway footbridge. This alone was a huge undertaking and demonstrated logistical capability and our ability to work with multiple agencies to minimise disruption.
“The Chichester Cathedral exercise will serve as a benchmark for success for years to come as we continue to test our operational procedures and emergency planning for major incidents.”
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