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In
safe hands
UP to 15,000 people are expected to flood into Lerwick each day
to see the Cutty Sark Tall Ship fleet. Entertaining so many people,
so near the sea, means that safety precautions cannot be skimped
on. The emergency services and safety agencies will be standing
by to make sure everyone has a happy and trouble-free time this
August. Planning has been going on for months for what will be
the biggest event local agencies have ever been asked to handle.
All police leave has been cancelled for the
occasion and officers will be working 12 hour shifts to make
sure everything runs smoothly. There are 38 full-time officers
in Shetland, and between 12 and 18 will be on duty in the town
over the event. There will be up to six special constables on
duty as well as two motorcycle police, who will be sent up from
the Scottish mainland.
Inspector Ian Arnott said they were not expecting any public
order problems, but would be ready for anything. "Hopefully
it will be a friendly, family event," he said.
The police will have a dual role: keeping an eye on public safety
and managing the traffic. Obviously, with such attractions in
town, roads will be busy. Sail Shetland hopes that as many people
as possible will take advantage of the park and ride bus scheme
(see page 14), but even so, traffic congestion is almost inevitable.
Inspector Arnott said they were expecting a large rush of traffic
to head out of town and down the south mainland after the Parade
of Sail on the Thursday. They would be trying to ensure everyone
gets to see the boats, while maintaining safety on the roads,
he said. Inspector Arnott added that while the Shetland police
force had not had to deal with so many people concentrated in
one place before, many individual officers had gained valuable
experience at big events on the Scottish mainland.
The British Red Cross in Shetland is having to almost double
its number of first aid volunteers to cope with the crowds expected
in Lerwick.
Shetland Services Manager of the North East Scotland and Northern
Isles branch of the British Red Cross, Janet Dowswell, said there
were around 35 fully-qualified first aid volunteers in the isles,
but they needed 60 to provide cover at two sites for the tall
ships' event. A recruitment drive will start soon to find new
volunteers and to encourage other qualified people to come forward.
The organisation will advertise for new recruits in Mid-April,
with an open-night planned for the beginning of May. Interviews
should be held at the end of May, with training courses taking
place in June.
Mrs Dowswell said the changing pace of life in the isles meant
the need for first aid volunteers was growing -- more and more
big events were being staged in Shetland, with many of them requiring
first aid provision for insurance purposes. The Red Cross first
aid volunteers will be split between two sites, one at Holmsgarth
and the other at the event control centre beside Harbour House,
on the Esplanade. They will work shifts, with 20 people on duty
at any one time.
The Scottish Ambulance Service will be backing up the volunteers
with one ambulance at each site from 10am until 2am. There will
be one ambulance technician and one paramedic at Holmsgarth and
two ambulance technicians at Victoria Pier, with a supervising
paramedic at the Victoria Pier event control centre.
Leading ambulance paramedic Peter Smith said the obvious worry
for them was having bars in close proximity to the sea. But another
danger could come from the weather - crowds and a warm day were
not a great mix, he said. But he was confident that they had
every eventuality covered: "The desire is that, come Friday,
we can sit around the table with a cup of coffee and say, 'that
went well, we handled everything properly.' That's the target."
As you can see, we are doing all we can to make sure the historic
visit of the Cutty Sark Tall Ships fleet to Lerwick is a safe
and smooth ride for everyone. The rest is up to you.
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