‘Don’t panic’ says Hackney Council ahead of simulated high-rise blaze - with fake smoke

A mass evacuation of volunteer actors from a simulated fire in a high-rise block of flats - with fake smoke – will take place on the Woodberry Down Estate on Tuesday – and Hackney Council is pre-warning residents to make sure no one panics.

The live emergency planning exercise at Burtonwood House will be "as realistic as possible, but controlled at all times", the council has reassured.

It will allow the council, London Fire Brigade and the Met to test their emergency plans and the working relationships between the agencies. A mock rest centre will be set up at the Redmond Community Centre.

The council's safety chief, Cllr Caroline Selman, said: "It's absolutely crucial that we regularly test our plans. Usually we do that via table-top exercises but live scenarios like this give us the opportunity to test our response to emergencies in as realistic a way as possible."

Chris Jenner, LFB station commander added: "Realistic exercises of this nature are an excellent way to strengthening our multi agency communication and response to such incidents, which is key to bringing incidents of this nature to a quick and safe conclusion."

Parking restrictions will be in place from 10am around Burtonwood and Ashdale House.