Over 150 representatives from six external agencies, as well as in-house club staff, gathered for a morning of live safety exercises at the Toughsheet Community Stadium ahead of Wanderers’ fixture against Charlton last week.
More than six months in the planning, the activity aimed to test and practice procedures, operations and communication lines across a number of different scenarios that have the potential to occur at the stadium.
Joining Wanderers’ control room, hotel, stewarding and media staff were teams from St. John’s Ambulance, Northwest Ambulance Service, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, Greater Manchester Police, Transport for Greater Manchester and Exclusec Stewards, as well as a group of volunteers.
The morning commenced with a live fire evacuation of Bolton Stadium Hotel, quickly followed by a series of practice exercises inside the stadium bowl, including the moving of injured persons and reacting to a medical incident. The exercise was concluded with a full debrief in the Premier Suite, involving all those who took part.
Phil Mason, Chief Operating Officer at Bolton Wanderers said: “The weekend’s live stadium exercise was months in the planning and we were delighted so many representatives from key organisations across the region joined us to take part.
“As many know, we sadly encountered a real-life medical incident just a few weeks ago when lifelong supporter Iain Purslow was taken ill in the stands and later tragically passed away. The response on the day from all involved was commendable and only served to showcase how important it is that we maintain the highest possible safety standards at the stadium – and live exercises are critical to that.
“This will become an annual event that offers not only club staff but all agencies involved the opportunity to refresh their knowledge on protocol and highlight any possible improvements needed.
“I’d like to thank all the many brilliant and skilled representatives from all the agencies that attended, the club staff who took part on what was an already busy matchday and the volunteers who generously gave their time to help make the scenarios as realistic as possible.
“We hope this further reassures supporters on how seriously we take stadium safety at Bolton Wanderers and how we are constantly monitoring and evaluating best practice across our operations.”
If you have any questions about safety at Bolton Wanderers, please contact safetyofficer@bwfc.co.uk.
For supporters attending matchdays at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, stewards are situated in all areas of the stadium and fans are encouraged to alert staff to any incident occurring in the stands that they are concerned about.
Supporters can also contact the One Wanderers number on a matchday via TEXT or WhatsApp on 07542 850 902.