BPA Team Completes IOSH Approved Emergency Response Training

The following article was originally written by the British Pipeline Agency (BPA) and is shared here to highlight their experience of completing IOSH Approved Emergency Response training delivered by Reynolds Training Services.

It reflects BPA’s perspective following a two-day, scenario-based course held at Reynolds’ Technical Training Centre in Stallingborough and provides insight into how the training was delivered, what was covered and how emergency response roles were applied in practice.

The article is reproduced in full below.

On 12–13 January 2026, colleagues from across the business attended the IOSH Approved Emergency Response Training delivered by Reynolds Training Services at their Technical Training Centre in Stallingborough, near Grimsby. This two day course provided an immersive and highly practical learning environment designed to strengthen our capability to respond effectively to emergency scenarios across BPA operated sites.

The workshop was delivered by Alan Oxborough, Operations Manager at Reynolds Training, assisted by Reynolds professional trainers, Tony Woodward and Wayne Houson. In his follow up communications, he commended the team for their engagement, effort, and contribution throughout the scenario based exercises.

Why This Training Matters

Day 1 – Theory & Assessment

We covered the essentials: legislation, regulatory guidance (HSG 191), incident command models, COMAH, industry best practice, effective communication frameworks, and lessons from major industry events. The day ended with a formal exam — and the whole group passed.

Day 2 – Live Scenario: Gold, Silver & Bronze Teams

The practical day put everything into action:

• Bronze Team – Operational Response
  • First on scene, assessing the loss of primary containment, initiating the immediate response, and locating/activating the Emergency Shutdown Device (ESD) and alarm systems.
• Silver Team – Tactical Control
  • Monitoring CCTV, remotely operating valves through the control system, coordinating the safe evacuation of non essential personnel, and working to contain the loss of primary containment leak before it entered a local drain, escalating the incident.
• Gold Team – Strategic Command
  • Acting as Head Office, managing communications with next of kin, impacted clients, and regulators such as the Environment Agency (EA), HSE, and DESNZ, while providing overall strategic direction.

This structure mirrored real life emergency command levels and gave delegates a genuine feel for how incidents unfold and escalate.

Course takeaway

BPA’s experience highlights the value of immersive, scenario-based emergency response training that goes beyond theory. By working through realistic Gold, Silver and Bronze command structures in a live training environment, delegates were able to test decision-making, communication and control under pressure – mirroring the complexity of real incidents in COMAH-regulated environments.

Training on a fully operational process plant allowed emergency scenarios to unfold dynamically, reinforcing how incidents escalate, how roles interact and why effective command structures are critical to protecting people, assets and the environment.

Emergency response competence can’t be built in a classroom alone. Real confidence comes from practising in environments that reflect the realities people will face on site. Our process plant allows us to safely emulate a wide range of emergency scenarios – from loss of containment to escalation and command-level decision making – so teams can experience how incidents really unfold.
– John Reynolds, Managing Director, Reynolds Training Services

How to book IOSH Approved Emergency Response Training

IOSH Approved Emergency Response courses are delivered at Reynolds’ Technical Training Centre in Stallingborough or can be tailored for on-site delivery, subject to requirements.

To discuss upcoming course dates or bespoke training options, please contact the Reynolds Training team or visit our course booking page to find out more.