Coolkeeragh team stays cool under pressure
It was a wet and windy Sunday morning in early December and fire tenders and ambulances were seen rushing to the scene of a major fire and emergency at Coolkeeragh Power Station. This was the scene set for a follow-up exercise to the Control of major Accident Hazards (COMAH) and Business Continuity desk top exercise carried out in September.
This time, it was a physical, realtime exercise involving the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS), the Ambulance Service, the Health & Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI) and station operations and management staff. The exercise was again directed by Jim Crawford who, with operations manager Jim Cooke, carried out all the preparations with the NIFRS, including risk analyses for the planned activities on the day.
The exercise simulated a major fuel storage tank fire, the declaration of a COMAH incident and the handling of medical emergencies after extraction of fire crews and site personnel trapped at the scene. If that was not enough, environmental issues associated with smoke, fire, water and the logistical problems of sourcing foam supplies, pumping equipment and management of emergencies during the exercise were subtly introduced to test higher-level emergency systems.
Shift team leader, Gerry MacFarland and Plant Manager, Dave Shepherd, took up positions in a mobile control room with command and communications staff from the NIFRS. Shift team leader Peter Kelly and Jim Cooke, Operations Manager, braved the elements at the scene of the fire with operations technicians Eamon Harkin and Malcolm Burns acting as volunteer casualties 'trapped' in the area of the storage tank.
Nine vehicles from the NIFRS attended the exercise, including a turntable ladder, seven fire tenders and a strategic mobile control centre kitted out with the latest IT and communication systems . Three fully equipped ambulances came to the scene from the N.I. Ambulance Service. More than 60 people from the emergency services were on site, in addition to site operations/management staff and observers from the HSE N.I.
The feedback during the 'hot debrief ', which was accompanied by much needed tea and refreshments, was very good and further debriefings are planned in the next weeks to close off reports. Billy Orr of the NIFRS commented that of the 17 COMAH sites in Northern Ireland, Coolkeeragh's preparedness would be one of the highest, due in no small part to the professionalism of site operations staff, the level of procedures in place and the onsite team work.
