Fire Wharf Road Tyseley
West Midlands Fire Service have reported a fire at the Birmingham Truck Stop, Wharf Road Tyseley. There may be some road closures / diversions around the area. If indoors keep your doors and windows closed.
Fire at Spring Hill
Update as at 0700hrs
Fire service are dealing with a major fire at a factory. Road restrictions apply both ways on Spring Hill and expected to be in place for some time. Police are assisting with road traffic diversions. Bus routes will be affected so advice is to check before you start your journey.
Fire at Residential Property, Booths Farm Road, Great Barr – Cordon Now Lifted
We were notified at 19:45hrs tonight (29/3/12) of a fire in a shed at a property on Booths Farm Road, Great Barr by West Midlands Police. No injuries were reported. The emergency services put in place a cordon and evacuated some local residents. The council sent an Emergency Planning Duty Officer to liaise with the emergency services at the scene and have been liaising with the Police to assist with the provision of barriers. The cordon has now been lifted and residents have been allowed back to their properties. Emergency Services remain on scene.
Soho Road to Jewellery Quarter march
Update @ 12:00
Protestors have started their march down the Soho Road from Booth Street.
11:55
West Midlands Police and Birmingham Resilience Team are aware of a march due to take place today from the junction of Soho Road and Booth Street to the Indian Consulate in Augusta Street, Jewellery Quarter.
Protestors are currently gathering on the Soho Road/Booth Street and have stated their intentions to march down Soho Road to Augusta Street via the Hockley Flyover area for a planned peaceful protest starting at 1pm outside the Indian Consulate office. The protest is being organsied by the Federation of Sikh Organisations aginst the death penalty in India.
There may be some disruption to traffic in the local area as the march proceeds.
Business Continuity Awareness Week
19-23 March 2012
Business Continuity Awareness Week (BCAW) is the global educational event for people to learn more about Business Continuity Management (BCM). BCAW is facilitated by the Business Continuity Institute (BCI). 
This year’s BCAW will provide some fantastic opportunities to learn more about BCM and engage with experts from around the world. Highlights include:
- New research: The BCI and its partners will be publishing new research and papers throughout the week. The BCI will make the latest version of the Chartered Management Institute’s annual survey available along with new papers on identifying key supply chain partners, crisis management, resilience (discipline mapping), measuring the value of BCM, and tools to support senior executive engagement. Webinars will provide an opportunity to engage with the authors of these reports.
- BC24: this is a ground-breaking, multi-role, online incident simulation game to test your organization’s crisis management skills, and informally benchmark with organizations across the world.
- New webcasts: A 30+ webcast programme will run throughout the week. You can view them live and ask questions or watch recordings at your leisure.
- BCAW Forum: a LinkedIn Forum for newcomers to ask questions of the BC community and for more experienced practitioners to debate the hot topics in the industry.
As in previous years, a dedicated portal has been set up to allow the BCI to signpost different activities, forums and resources available during BCAW. This site will be updated from now through to the end of March 2012.
Website: www.bcaw2012.com
Birmingham Resilience Team is promoting 5 key themes during BCAW
1. How will your business be affected by the Olympics?
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be the largest sports events in the world and offer a once-in-a-lifetime chance to showcase the UK at its best. It is also a great opportunity for businesses of all sizes and sectors. You may already be planning how your business can take full advantage.
However, like any large event, the Games will bring with them certain challenges. If your business is located near to a Games venue or a travel hotspot, you need to start planning as soon as possible to reduce any adverse impact that the Games could have on your business.
This booklet provides some advice and guidance on things you can do before, during and after Games time (see link, below), so that you can keep your business running during 2012 and make the most of the opportunities next summer. This guide has been coordinated by the Cabinet Office, with contributions from all the organisations involved with delivering the Games.
http://www.london2012.com/documents/business/preparing-your-business-for-the-games.pdf
Birmingham specific information is available at www.birminghamourgames.co.uk
2. Severe weather
Flooding can pose a serious hazard to lives and property. By taking simple precautions you can minimise the damage caused by flooding. The Environment Agency ‘Floodline Warnings Direct’ service offers flood warnings for England and Wales. This service allows residents to receive free flood warnings relevant to their location. Warnings can be sent 24 hours a day to email addresses, mobile phones (as an SMS text message), voice message (to a landline telephone), fax or pager. In addition, a ‘Floodline’ telephone service can be accessed day or night for real-time flood warnings and advice.
FLOODLINE 0845 988 1188
Anyone who is at risk from flooding from rivers and within one of the Environment Agency, Flood Warning Area’s will automatically be signed-up to receive warnings to their landline telephone. The Environment Agency have now automatically signing up over 500,000 households and businesses across the UK. Residents can contact the Environment Agency to provide additional and/or alternative contact details. Go to the Envirornment Agency website.
The Met Office provides the UK’s weather warning service. They are a Trading Fund within the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and operate on a commercial basis. The Public Weather Service provides forecasts for the public to help them make informed decisions about their day-to-day activities. The National Severe Weather Warning service is part of this, providing advance notice of weather which could affect public safety. Members of the public can sign up to receive Met Office warnings by email by going to: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/
3. Power outages
Western Power Distribution (WPD) is the electricity distribution network operator for the Midlands, South Wales and the South West. Being prepared for a power cut can include some simple measures, such as: keeping a torch handy; having a wind up / battery powered radio available to tune in to local radio updates; have an ordinary analogue telephone as digital / cordless ones won’t work; keeping a hard copy of key contact details; and a weekly print-out of important meetings / deliveries due.
WPD contact number to report a power cut: 0800 328 1111
4. Being informed of emergencies in your area
Birmingham “Community Alert” is a new facility provided free of charge by Birmingham Resilience Team, to help keep you up to date with latest developments related to resilience and importantly includes emergency alerts in the event of incidents in your area.
The types of emergencies we might text you about include: flooding incidents; evacuations; major utility failures; incidents at local industrial sites; major road closures; major health risks.
It’s quick and easy to sign up: visit the registration page, where you can choose how you receive messages, e.g. emergency alerts are usually sent by text, newsletters by email, etc.
Or to only receive emergency messages on your mobile:
Text ALERT followed by your postcode to 83118
5. Testing and Training
Project ARGUS is a National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) initiative, exploring ways to aid you in preventing, handling and recovering from a terrorist attack. It achieves this by taking businesses through a simulated terrorist attack.
Birmingham City Council and West Midlands Police Counter Terrorism Unit are providing the session free of charge and invitations are going out to city centre based businesses. This session is being sponsored by the City Centre Partnership, a team that is drawn from key public and private sector organisations in Birmingham, with a remit to improve safety throughout the City Centre.
The next scheduled session is Friday 11th May 2012.
To book a place email emergencyplanning@birmingham.gov.uk with your full name, job title, department, address and confirm if you have any special access requirements. Please note places are limited and all bookings will receive email confirmation.
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