Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service Supports Flood Exhibition

Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service is supporting a special exhibition that aims to raise awareness and understanding of flooding.

Each year, firefighters are called to homes and business throughout Swindon and Wiltshire to help people whose properties have been flooded. More often than not, the flooding has been caused by rising river levels or from surplus surface water where drains have not been able to cope with heavy rainfall.

The exhibition, on Thursday the 12th of February, has been organised by a Swindon-wide partnership, which used funding from the Government’s Flood Resilience Community Pathfinder scheme.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has supported 13 such schemes nationally to promote innovative solutions to better protect homes and businesses from the risk of flooding.

In Swindon, this has seen the development of a network of Community Flood Champions to help make the town better equipped to resist potential flooding, with support from education and training.

The exhibition on 12 February, will be held from 1pm until 7pm at the Steam museum. It will allow visitors to:

• Check whether they are in a flood risk area;
• Find out about flood warning services and how to sign up;
• Get practical advice on protecting their premises;
• See the latest range of property flood products on the market, which can help protect homes or businesses;
• Develop a flood plan;
• Talk to the agencies and authorities who manage flooding in the Swindon area; and
• Meet local flood action groups.

This free event is open to anyone who has an interest in flooding, and visitors can also enjoy complimentary entry to Steam.

Dave Geddes, Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service Group Manager, said: “In recent years, we have seen homes across Swindon and Wiltshire badly affected by flooding. As firefighters, we will always do what we can to help, but very often we can’t assist as the water is too high or it can’t be pumped away. While you can never entirely remove the risk of flooding, there is a lot that can be done by individuals and within the wider community to protect homes and businesses, so this exhibition is a great way to encourage people to plan ahead.”