Emergency Services: Further Information

Newrisk Limited is able to assist organisations, governments, local councils and industry associations with issues relating to emergency services. Newrisk Limited and its principal adviser, Dr Leivesley, have provided media commentary, lectures, conference papers, workshops and publications on emergency services issues, examples of which are set out below. To return to an overview of Newrisk Limited's emergency services expertise, please click here.

To request Newrisk Limited's assistance in connection with emergency services concerns or to discuss a tailored package of services, please contact Newrisk Limited directly.

Media Commentary

Newrisk Limited has provided media commentary on issues related to the preparation and protection of emergency services as well as emergency services response to incidents including CBRNE incidents. Examples of such commentary include:

• Grenfell – How the fire service response to the Grenfell Tower fire compares with services across the UK, for BBC Newsnight on 14 July 2017;
• Soma Mine Explosion for ITV Good Morning Britain on 15 May 2014;
• Soma Mine Explosion: Turkey causation and rescue for Sky News on 14 May 2014;
• London Marathon Security & its implications for future sporting events on Channel Pro7, 'TAFF' programme (Germany);
• Boston Marathon Terror for Channel 7 Weekend Sunrise (Australia) on 21 April 2013;
• Boston Marathon Terror for Chanel 5 News on 20 April 2013;
• Boston Marathon Terror for ITV Daybreak, Channel 10 News (Australia) and Channel 5 News on 16 April 2013;
• Boston Marathon Terror and Security for the London Marathon for BBC Radio Scotland on 16 April 2013;
• US Cinema Mass Casualty Shooting for Sky News on 20 July 2012;
• Olympics threats following suspected six person terror cell arrests & a false chemical incident alarm for ITN Daybreak on 6 July;
• Olympics defence exercise & Olympics security preparedness for Channel 5 News on 3 May 2012;
• Firefighters Killed in Southampton High-Rise Blaze for BBC News on 7 April 2010;
• Urban Search and Rescue and Terrorism Protection Exercises for BBC Breakfast on 28 February 2009;
• Comment on Kent Police's Top 10 Terrorism Risks for BBC News on 30 July 2008;
• Extra Dirty Bomb Suits Ordered for Police and Pending Execution of Saddam for BBC News on 29 December 2006;
• Extra Dirty Bomb Suits Ordered for Police for BBC Breakfast on 29 December 2006;
• Anti-Terrorist Exercise at Bank Station for Channel 4 News on 7 September 2003;
• Anti-Terrorist Exercise at Bank Station for BBC Radio 4 on 5 September 2003; and
• Anti-Terrorist Exercise at Bank Station and Current Threats for LBC Radio on 3 September 2003.

Lectures, Conference Papers and Workshops

Newrisk Limited and its principal adviser, Dr Leivesley, have presented lectures, conference papers and workshop exercises on emergency services issues, including:

• CBRNE/Cyber Terrorism: Technical briefing for ‘Exercise London - Lecture for the Ministry of Defence, Terrorism Causes, Trends and Responses, Knowledge Transfer Programme at the University of Bradford, School of Social and International Studies in April 2013;
  
  
• Risking the Forward Responder: Sydney 2000 - Paper to the 28th International Training Conference & Trade Exhibition of Bomb Technicians & Investigators in Melbourne (Australia) in June 2000;
  
  
• Protecting the Community and Emergency Response Teams - Paper to the Australian Bomb Data Centre Conference in Canberra (Australia) in October 1999;
  
  
• Emergency Incident Planning Exercise: Fuel Air - Paper and workshop exercise to the Region VII International Training Conference & Exhibition for the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators in Canberra (Australia) in November 1997;
  
  
• Human Factors, Emergency Response and Planning - Paper to the Symposium and Workshop on Major LP Gas Incidents in Sydney (Australia) in October 1992.

Publications

Newrisk Limited's principal adviser, Dr Leivesley, has written a number of publications on emergency services & emergency response, including:

• Earthquake Plans' in Safety Audit (September 1991): Discussing the Newcastle earthquake as well as forward planning for earthquakes and emergency service earthquake response plans.
  
  
• Emergency Training in Financial Institutions: Debriefing Following an Armed Hold-up' in Safety Audit (January/February 1991): Discussing the debriefing process and procedures which may assist debriefing sessions.
  
  
• 'Chernobyl: The Invisible Threat'  in RUSI Journal (Summer 1988) 41-46: This paper describes the Chernobyl accident and its impact on the local population and emergency service workers.
  
  
• 'Emergency Planning for a Papal Visit to a Subtropical Region by P Scown and Dr Sally Leivesley in Travel Medicine International (Summer 1988).
  
  
• 'The Twenty-Fifth Annual Study of the Association of Civil Defence and Emergency Planning Officers' (1977) pp.267-268.

Dr Sally Leivesley has been cited in numerous publications in respect of emergency services & emergency response, including:

• Civil Defence Prepared for Emergencies by A McGregor, The Courier Mail (Queensland, Australia), 1 May 1986: "The Soviet Union's civil defence organisation was so good it would probably cope with the nuclear reactor disaster with little fuss, according to Australian social scientist, Dr Sally Leivesley...Dr Leivesley said that the Russians were making a mistake if they thought that covering-up the accident was the best method of coping with world reaction. At Three Mile Island, the nuclear reactor utility owners at first gave conflicting reports - first that there was a danger of an explosion, and then that there was no possibility of an explosion. The public lost confidence in the utility owners and evacuated en masse, even though only pregnant women were officially advised to leave."
  
  
• Emergency Services Plan United Front by Anonymous, The Courier Mail (Queensland, Australia), 14 November 1989: "Queensland's emergency services will train together to provide a State response plan for dealing with chemical fires and other major accidents...[The Chemical Hazards and Emergency Management Unit] co-ordinator Dr Sally Leivesley said minutes meant lives when dealing with chemical accidents...'If the services get together and pre-plan their emergency procedures it will save lives.' she said."
  
  
• Expert Reports: QATB Antiquated by Jann George, The Daily News (Warwick, Queensland, Australia), 18 July 1989: "People are dying because of Queensland's antiquated ambulance service, Dr Sally Leivesley said yesterday. Dr Leivesley, author of the Leivesley Report which looked at Queensland fire services, was also asked by the Government to review Queensland's ambulance services. Her recommendations however were not readily accepted and the review into ambulance services was cancelled. Dr Leivesley recommended there should be four regional operational centres to cover Queensland. These centres would also handle police and fire emergencies."
  
  
• The Truth About Our Ambulance by Anonymous, The Sunday Sun (Australia), 2 July 1989: "The practice of sending a one-man ambulance to an emergency must stop, says Dr Sally Leivesley. An officer arriving alone at a crash scene has to assess not just the medical needs but if he is first on the scene he has to decide whether he is going to effect the rescue himself...'And he then has to drive the ambulance and try to maintain life at the same time,' asid Dr Leivesley. 'We all know that is not possible.' But it is happening in Queensland."
  
  
• Fighters of the Old Brigade by Don Petersen, The Courier Mail (Queensland, Australia), 3 March 1989: "It has been more than three weeks now since Dr Sally Leivesley brought down a wide-ranging report which said that Queensland's fire services were 40 years behind international standards and 10 to 12 behind much of the rest of Australia...This was a courageous, far-sighted document compiled from public submissions, not the least of them recommendations made for decades by men who daily risk their lives protecting life and property. If it is vulnerable to criticisms at all it is in Dr Leivesley's recommendations for immediate action to upgrade fire services 'but to do this without public alarm.' Public alarm would seem to be a minimum requirement in any effort to get this Government to face up to stark realities..."
  
  
• Fire Plans Would Cost Only $10m a year by Peter Morley, The Courier Mail (Queensland, Australia), 1 March 1989: "Adopting the Leivesley fire services recommendations would cost the State Government only $10 million extra a year, the Emergency Services Minister, Mr Cooper, said yesterday...The Brisbane Lord Mayor, Alderman Atkinson, said it would take a disaster to make the State Government improve fire services. She said she was alarmed at Brisbane's 'thin blanket' of protection against fires and the State Government's refusal to implement Dr Leivesley's improvements."
  
  
• Consultation Taken Too Far by Anonymous, The Courier Mail (Queensland, Australia), 1 March 1989: "The continuing saga of the fire services report has all the characteristics of an episode of 'Yes Minister' - save one: it lacks humour...Already the expert appointed to carry out the survey - an expert acknowledged internationally, and not just in Queensland - has sought the 'widest possible understanding and consideration.' The report by Dr Sally Leivesley is the result of months of hard work and 200 submissions...Admittedly, Dr Leivesley's report will be expensive to implement in full but that much was acknowledged before the investigations began. It is simply not possible to rectify years of benign neglect without spending additional money. At the same time however, this money has to be spent. The alternative, as the report made quite clear, is an inadequate and in some places non-existant fire service."
  
  
• Stop Playing Political Games by Anonymous, The Courier Mail (Queensland, Ausrtalia), 24 February 1989: "Faced with...difficulties in the fire services, Mr Cooper [the Emergency Services Minister] turned to an internationally recognised expert in disaster planning, Dr Sally Leivesley. Her report painted a sorry picture of the State's fire services and recommended some urgent, although expensive, action. All too urgent and expensive, or so it would seem, for the Queensland Cabinet."
  
  
• Coast Centres Unprotected: Fire Report by Peter Morley, The Courier Mail (Queensland, Australia), 24 February 1989: "Gold Coast urban sprawl has meant places like Helensvale and Nerang - both with considerable populations - have no effective fire-brigade protection. According to the Leivesley fire services report, there is "no cover at all" when brigade response time to residential areas is more than eight minutes...The report said the facts about the lack of fire cover provided by the present $83 million budget were unknown to the public."
  
  
• Fire Service Needs Attention by Anonymous, The Courier Mail (Queensland, Australia), 20 February 1989: "Queensland, according to disaster planning expert Dr Sally Leivesley, has the equivalent of a village fire service...According to Dr Leivesley, who chaired a committee of review, the management structure of Queensland's fire services is 40 years behind international standards and five to 10 years behind other States. This is not a condemnation of the people who work in the fire service, often under conditions of great risk. But it does reflect poorly upon the Government and the 81 separate boards, each of which has defended its little territorial patch in the past, often to the detriment of a co-ordinated and planned approach.

To request Newrisk Limited's assistance in connection with emergency services concerns or to discuss a tailored package of services, please contact Newrisk Limited directly.