Published on:
15
March 2013
Clackmannanshire Council has been widely praised in a debrief report for the way it led, managed and responded to the major gas leak incident at Fishcross in November, which left 3,500 homes without gas for four days.
On Thursday Councillors were told in the report: "The overwhelming view was that the incident was extremely well managed at all levels of command and that public information and media handling, including dealing effectively with significant volumes of social media, emerged as a key strength for Clackmannanshire.
"The command centre set up at Tillicoultry carried out its functions very effectively and the venue was excellent. The multi-agency tactical group did well in their co-ordination of all aspects of the incident, which included good team working and positive interaction across agencies."
Council Leader, Councillor Gary Womersley said: "Clackmannanshire Council led from the front and took control and did a highly commendable job, and I would like to praise among others communications, considering the high level of social media."
The voluntary sector was also singled out for praise for the speed and numbers of personnel provided and the co-ordination of resources through a "single point of contact."
Council Chief Executive, Elaine McPherson, who is responsible for the strategic management of major incidents said: "It is nice to get this feedback about our handling of the gas leak. It was a large and unprecedented incident and I am very proud of the way the Council and its partners worked together to resolve the issues and support individuals in the community. Everyone involved pulled out all the stops and the incident showed that our procedures and protocols were up to a very challenging test.
The way in which the Council and its partners communicated with the public was particularly praised in the debrief report, including the management of social media and the flow of information to the public.
Ms McPherson added: "Communications during major incidents are often criticised but we were particularly keen to ensure that the public were being informed regularly with as much information as we were able to provide so that people were reassured and also able to make appropriate arrangements. We also had superb support from the local communities affected which really assisted us in managing the incident."