PORT Isaac’s flood wardens have received free specialist training through the new Communities Prepared project, which helps South West communities prepare for future flooding.

Port Isaac is the first Cornish village to benefit from Communities Prepared training now being delivered in collaboration with Cornwall Fire, Rescue and Community Safety Service.

The training, originally developed by Cornwall Community Flood Forum, Cornwall Council, the Environment Agency and the emergency services, has been updated and is more hands-on.

Flood wardens are local volunteers who can help prevent flooding by reporting blocked drains and ditches, as well as responding to flood warnings by supporting vulnerable people and the emergency services.

The training focused on what the flood wardens could do in the event of a flood to keep the community safe while it waits for the Fire and Rescue Service to arrive.

It also showed what volunteers need to do to keep themselves safe.

The volunteer flood wardens attended the training day at St Austell Community Fire Station, where their local technical water rescue team is based.

During a tour of the station, the flood wardens were introduced to the technical water rescue equipment to emphasise why wardens themselves do not enter flood water.

Amy Pearce from the Environment Agency helped the team to understand how flooding could happen in Port Isaac.

As well as learning practical skills, the volunteers worked on their own flood action plan, which details everyone’s respon­sibilities in supporting their community if a flood does occur.

The Communities Prepared project provides personal protective equipment for flood wardens who have undertaken the training and developed a flood action plan.

As part of the day, Port Isaac Flood Group co-ordinator, Dee Littlechild, compiled a list of what was needed.

Dee said: “We’ve put a lot of work into our flood plan, but it’s been a paper exercise so far. Being trained by Cornwall Fire and Rescue and seeing the equipment really brought it to life and it’s given us so much to think about. Learning very practical things like how to build a sandbag wall has made us feel far more confident in being able to manage a flood while we wait for the Fire Service to arrive.

“The training really brought home the importance of having a proper flood plan. I would recommend the training to any other groups of flood wardens. We feel so much better prepared.”

A Big Lottery funded partnership between Groundwork, Cornwall Community Flood Forum, Cornwall College and Commun­ities Prepared will support cities, towns and villages from Gloucestershire to Cornwall prepare for the unexpected.

Working alongside the Environment Agency, the project team supports local people to develop a flood plan and recruit and train a team of community wardens to respond to flooding and other emergencies.

The flood warden training includes understanding flood risk, using sandbags and personal protective equipment and working with the emergency services.

Cathryn Marcus of Communities Prepared said: “Hearing first hand from the emergency services gave the flood wardens a real sense of what would happen in the event of a serious flood. They could also get a better understanding of each other’s role and how they can support each other. Importantly, the training also helped hammer home the message that we don’t want flood wardens to put themselves in danger.

“We’re delighted to have the Cornwall Fire, Rescue and Community Safety Service on board for this training and are proud to be working with them to deliver training to communities across Cornwall.”

Cllr Andy Penny, member for St Minver and St Endellion, said: “The flood warden training has been an excellent opportunity for the residents of Port Isaac to build on their community emergency management plan and help them prepare for the critical early stages of any emergency like flooding, heavy snowfall or a major fire before the emergency services arrive to take over.

“By having a plan and undertaking the training communities can reduce the risk of harm to local people and damage to local property in the event of a flood and Port Isaac has demonstrated localism in action.”

Andy Reynolds of Cornwall Fire, Rescue and Community Safety Service added: “We focused on how flood wardens can keep themselves safe, while being as useful as they can be in protecting the community. Not all of the dangers of flooding are obvious and through this training we are challenging some of the common miscon­ceptions about flooding. We also used video to show the impact that water can have.

“It was great to invite the flood wardens into the fire station so we could work with them to show how they would fit into the command structure if a flood did occur. We look forward to working with other groups across Cornwall.”