I’ve been contacted by a few people concerned at events ongoing at the old Oak Park Leisure Centre in Walsall Wood, where a large number of fire engines, smoke and other alarming stuff has been seen: fear not, it’s a training exercise by Bloxwich Fire Station.
The exercise, called Antioch (who comes up with these names?) has been documented by @westmidsfire on Twitter here.
Emergency services often undertake training exercises in disused buildings – they previously used Greenwood House in Burntwood for sniffer dog training and the former mental hospitals at Burntwood and Great Barr before their demolition.
If you’re wondering about the eventual demolition of the old Oak Park and completion of landscaping, I’m reliably informed this should be underway within the next couple of months as technical issues are resolved with the site.
