Emergency alert test at New York Stadium

Rotherham United welcomed various emergency services to the stadium to carry out a live training exercise, involving tackling a fire in the ground and providing first aid to casualties.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and South Yorkshire Police worked with stewards to test the football club’s procedures to make sure all supporters are safe in case of a rare incident happening during a match.

Station manager Matt Gillatt said: “We know that these types of incidents are rare, but it’s imperative that the football club practice their emergency plans to make sure fans are as safe as possible.

“It also gives the different emergency services that would be called out to a situation like this a chance to refine their skills and learn more about the stadium.

He added: “We perform a lot of realistic exercises like this so we can be certain that any response from the fire service and all of our partners would be as strong as possible.

“Going through plans on paper is one thing, but often the only way of really testing our decision making ability is to re-enact the incident in a live environment.

Mr Gillatt said the exercise was “a great success” and that fans “should be reassured by the club taking their safety so seriously”

A Millers spokesman said: “Rotherham United would like to thank all the parties who attended from the emergency services and Rotherham Borough Council who contributed to the exercise.”