MORE than 30 firefighters took part in a training exercise yesterday (November 19) which simulated a large fire caused by a firework hitting an oil storage tank.

The Maldon crew joined other firefighters from Orsett, Grays, Corringham, Stansted Stations in Exercise Geronimo at the Shell oil base in Coryton.

The exercise saw them react to a blaze in a large fuel storage tank, caused by igniting fuel vapours.

It was organised by station manager Martin Pullen and Shell boss Graham Hipkin.

Mr Pullen said: “Exercise Geronimo was organised to test our petrochemical firefighting techniques and to familiarise our firefighters with the site’s risks and procedures.

“It also gave firefighters the opportunity to use our new ‘foam wands’ for the first time.

“The flexibility of the wands mean we can apply foam from the top of a storage tank to effectively deal with the fire.

“The exercise was a great success and we have some valuable learning outcomes to take forward.

“I would like to thank everyone involved in the exercise especially the crews and Shell terminal manager Graham Hipkin and his team.”