FIRE crews from Hereford and Peterchurch turned out to a Herefordshire care home last week.

But there was no need for alarm at The Weir Nursing Home, in Swainshill, as the firefighters' arrival was for a full-scale fire drill, arranged by care manager Rita Mills and Hereford's Green Watch.

The drill covered all aspects of a real fire situation, from sounding the alarms to full evacuation of the home, with all staff required to report to work and play specific roles.

The drill included the safe evacuation of residents on bed rest, residents who needed to be hoisted from their beds to chairs, and mobile residents.

A spokesperson from The Weir Nursing Home said: "It was a difficult exercise, as The Weir is an old country house with narrow corridors and winding staircases spread over four floors, but despite this, the exercise was a success, with lessons to be learned on both sides.

"At the end of the day, the priority was to get all residents and staff out of the building, regardless of mobility, as safely and quickly as possible.

"This was successfully achieved by our Herefordshire firefighters.

"We would like to say a big thank you to the brigade for their time and for all the hard physical work they put into this role-play exercise."