A MASS fire service training exercise in South Lakeland on Sunday saw 10 fire engines and more than 60 firefighters respond to a ‘crashed’ military aircraft.

The extensive training day at the Junction 36 Rural Auction Centre, near Milnthorpe, saw fire crews from locations including Kendal, Penrith and Silverdale deal with the aftermath of the simulated crash.

The scenario was that the plane had collided with the side of the J36 Exhibition Hall, hitting two parked cars in the process. There were 11 ‘casualties’ in total; seven in the building, the pilot who had ejected and landed on the roof, and three in the cars outside.

Adding to the realism on the day were four ‘live’ wounded from the Furness branch of the Casualties Union (CU), a charity which provides actors for such occasions.

Event organiser Sue de Lima, who is a watch manager at Kendal Fire Station, said: “It’s like a challenge to ourselves. We have got to plan and prepare for any foreseeable event.

“We need to know that when it does happen we can deal with the incident.”

CU member Lesley Hartley said: “I have been hung, I have been trapped under a car. My sister calls it the ‘job dead’ club. It’s not for everyone but it’s great.

“We are helping the emergency services (and) I like doing the make-up, I enjoy the acting.”

The rescue took around 45 minutes. Once all the casualties had been attended to and some runaway sheep dealt with (all part of the exercise), the firefighters had a debriefing.

Ms de Lima said the event had been a success as all the casualties were brought to safety with no injuries.

A minor issue which cropped up was that some radios being used on the day were digital and some still analogue. However, Ms de Lima said this was an example of a way in which training exercises could make the fire service “more effective and operate better.”