CHESHIRE Firefighters took part in a major training exercise where they acted out a mass decontamination process.

Crews were accompanied on the exercise by 70 students from Mid Cheshire College. Students played the role of actors for the day to make the exercise as realistic as possible for the crews.

Woodford Lodge Sports Complex car park on Woodford Lane West in Winsford was used for the scenario, where a suspected substance had leaked from a package, affecting the workers inside a building.

The students played the role of the workers and were required to go through a decontamination unit which was set up for the day.

Cheshire Police also took part in the exercise where fire engines from Winsford, Northwich, Crewe, Chester, Ellesmere Port and Runcorn attended. Watch manager, Hannah Caulfield, was the exercise commander.

She said: “This was a National Resilience exercise and gave firefighters the chance to put into practice what they would be required to do if this scenario was real. By using the students it added an extra element and demonstrated how people might react when being decontaminated.”

Station Manager Ant Jones added: “The exercise went well and was a great way of ensuring our crews have the best possible training in preparation for a major emergency such as this.”

The Salvation Army also provided liquid refreshments for the crews.