Emergency Centres

There can be various types of centres set up depending on the nature of the incident and its effects on the surrounding population. Centres may be established in conjunction with feeding facilities or set up solely as evacuation centres. The roles of the responding agencies may also change depending on the scale of the emergency and the type of centre set up.

Rest Centre. A building designated for the temporary shelter and care of homeless people. It will be managed by local authority staff, from either the affected District Council or Leicestershire County Council Education Authority.

Survivor Reception Centre. This is a secure area to which survivors of an incident can be taken for shelter, first aid, interview and documentation. The police will manage it.

Friends and Relatives Reception Centre. The initial reception and temporary accommodation of family and friends coming to the incident, from outside the immediate area, to obtain details of what is happening. The Police will use this to interview of friends and relatives of victims.

One of the most likely tasks to face the Local Authority in an emergency will be to provide emergency accommodation for those people evacuated or rendered homeless. The needs of large numbers evacuated for short periods are best met by the provision of temporary accommodation in Rest Centres. The set up of a rest centre in a Leisure Centre

The set up of a rest centre in a Leisure Centre

During and following an emergency, the Emergency Services may ask the affected District Council directly, (or through the County Emergency Management Officer), to provide care and support to members of the public who have been evacuated from their homes and require temporary accommodation or to uninjured survivors of an incident. Such care and support may be provided at special centres set up for the purpose.

Remember to take with you:

change of warm clothing
toiletries
medicines
special foods
important documents, immediate valuables and useful telephone numbers
baskets or cages and leads for pets

and on arrival at the rest centre, advise staff of any special requirements at the time of registering and arrangements will be made for you.

All these centres are regarded as only short-term options. People will remain at them for a limited period of time before more suitable accommodation can be found or they return to their own property.

LRF Emergency Rest Centre Plan - PDF (481 KB)

Rest Centre Aide Memoires PDF

Purpose of a Rest Centre

A place of comfort and refuge set up to provide temporary shelter and essential welfare services for all those who have been evacuated from or dispossessed of their homes in an emergency.

Objectives

To care for and minimise the discomfort of those temporarily displaced by an incident or emergency.
To establish and manage the Rest Centre as speedily and efficiently as possible.
To utilise the skills and expertise of a Multi Agency team to ensure that the general care and welfare needs of the evacuees are met.

To promote a personal, sympathetic and compassionate approach to all those involved in the emergency.

Picture of plastic container with signs and stationary in it

Grab Box

The Rest Centre Grab Box is to be used for the initial setting up of a Rest Centre in the event of an evacuation being called. The box contains all the items necessary for such a purpose.

Grab Box kit list PDF

Humanitarian Assistance Provision

The purpose of Humaitarian Assistance is to:

Provide information and assistance to bereaved families and friends of those missing, injured or killed, survivors, and to all those directly affected by, and involved in the emergency.
Enable those affected to benefit from appropriate information and assistance in a timely, co-ordinated manner.
Where necessary, facilitate the gathering of forensic samples in a timely manner, in order to assist the identification process.
Offer access to - and guidance on - a range of agencies and services - allowing people to make informed choices according to their needs.
Ensure a seamless multi-agency approach to humanitarian assistance in emergencies that should minimise duplication and avoid gaps.

Provision of this assistance could take place by "signposting" people to various areas of support or by providing a Centre where all the relevant agencies can be housed.

This Centre should not be confused with other facilities, which appear in emergency planning doctrine or guidance e.g. the ‘Family and Friends Reception Centre’, the ‘Survivior Reception Centre’ , ‘Rest Centre’ etc.

As a response to the 7 July 2005 bombing in London, the resilience teams of London (mailny Local Authorities) set up and ran a Humanitarian Assistance Centre.

For more information and guidance use the following link - http://www.ukresilience.info/preparedness/ukgovernment/humanitarian.shtm

Emergency Centres

Purpose of a Rest Centre

Objectives

Grab Box

Humanitarian Assistance Provision

further information