Case Study
Topic
Data Protection and Sharing
Incident / Exercise
Incident: Explosion and Fire at Buncefield Oil Terminal, 11
December 2005
Background and Context
In the early hours of Sunday 11 December 2005, explosions at Buncefield Oil
Storage Depot, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire resulted in a large fire,
which engulfed a high proportion of the site.
Over 40 people were injured; there were no fatalities. Significant damage
occurred to both commercial and residential properties in the vicinity and
2,000 people were evacuated on emergency service advice.
The fire burned for several days, destroying most of the site and emitting
large clouds of black smoke into the atmosphere. Over 16,000 employees
within the adjacent Maylands Industrial Area were unable to access work and
92 businesses were displaced for more than one week. 17 were forced to
permanently relocate.
Overall, the explosion cost local businesses more than £70 million in lost
stock, lost revenue and relocation expenses.
The scale and nature of the incident ensured that the recovery process
would be undertaken by a large number of agencies and would involve
considerable information sharing and collaboration.
How the Topic was Handled
One of the strengths of the Recovery Group and the various sub-groups that
were established was a willingness to share information, without data
protection becoming an issue. The multi-agency membership of all the groups
meant that the sharing of information between different agencies tended to
take place as a matter of course.
In terms of the business recovery, there is one particularly good example
that illustrates this point. It became apparent that organisations such as
Dacorum Borough Council, Chamber of Commerce and Business Link held
information on different businesses and that the information that was
required (eg. details of all businesses in the Maylands Industrial Area)
did not exist. Despite the fact that this information was compiled and
maintained for different purposes, and also included information of a
sensitive and confidential nature, there was a willingness to share it more
widely in order to identify the owners of affected business premises and to
build up an accurate picture of the impact on businesses.
Lessons Identified
-
The incident reinforced the importance of a multi-agency approach to
recovery, and ensuring that the relevant agencies, including
organisations that represent the interests of businesses, are adequately
reflected in the recovery structure. If this had not been the case, then
the process of sharing information might have been more complicated and
lengthy.
-
The need to share information to undertake a common goal should not be
hindered by data protection or sensitivity issues. Information can be
shared effectively and confidentially in an emergency situation as long
as the process is well managed and the restrictions understood. The
Recovery Group took on this role and effectively had access to a
considerable amount of information that was not necessarily circulated or
shared beyond the group.
Contacts for Further Information
Emergency Planning Team, Hertfordshire County Council - emergency.planning@hertscc.gov.uk
