Industry/FD Cooperation Produce Improved Operations
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INDUSTRIAL
A small upstate New York company recently took steps to improve the operation of its Plant Emergency Organization (PEO) and also to enhance the group’s relationship with the local fire department. The company, USCI, established the PEO to provide immediate response to emergencies within the company and to fulfill its insurance requirements. The organization is not equipped to fight fire, but it does attempt to control emergencies within the company until the fire department arrives.
USCI is a medical device manufacturer located in Queensbury, NY. The facility consists of eleven buildings on fourteen acres.
PEO SETS GOALS FOR IMPROVEMENT
The company recently reviewed the PEO’s effectiveness and decided that some improvements were necessary. They received the help and cooperation of local volunteer firefighters and some company employees in this effort, which yielded positive results. The first step in this reorganization process was to cite the PEO’s purpose and determine ways to reach its goal of operating at peak efficiency.
The PEO’s purpose is to control an emergency situation until the local fire department arrives. All positions within the PEO are filled by company employees who volunteer for certain jobs based on their ability and knowledge of the facility.
We should emphasize that the PEO in no way replaces or tries to do the work of the fire department. The organization is not designed or equipped for that. However, job titles under the old PEO system give the impression that PEO personnel do fight fire.
New job descriptions/assignments
The first task, therefore, was to produce more accurate job descriptions for all the personnel within the organization. Thus, the fire chief became the crew chief and the fire police became the traffic coordinators (see table below). These are only two examples of changes. In addition, some new job positions and titles were created to fill weak areas in the organization.
The new job descriptions and job assignments were determined and incorporated into a roster, which was distributed and reviewed at a joint meeting of the firstand second-shift PEOs. The members discussed the new roster and job assignments, and then participated in a “walk-through drill” where they proceeded to their normal response area. In a subsequent training session, there was a discussion on the problems and questions involved with this drill.
Key Positions of the PEO
Advisor. Assists and advises the coordinator. Also helps develop PEO training.
Alarm panel monitor (new position). Monitors alarm panel until alarm system can be reset. Checks panel for second alarm in another building.
Back-up extinguisher. Assists staging area director in supplying necessary equipment and shuttling extinguishers to and from the fire building.
Coordinator. In charge of emergency until the fire department arrives.
Crew chief (formerly fire chief). Escorts extinguisher people inside to size up, control, and report status back to coordinator.
Crowd control (new position). Keeps unauthorized people away from the fire scene.
Electrician at scene. Provides electrical assistance and electrical information as necessary.
Extinguisher (formerly extinguisher and hose). Assists crew chief in controlling the emergency.
Hydrants. Opens hydrant houses and flushes hydrants as necessary. Helps the fire department connect hydrant to their equipment.
Roll call. Reports attendance to the coordinator after all roll calls.
Staging area director (new position). Ensures that extinguishers and other necessary material are on the scene.
Standby electrical vault. Stands by to shut down power to affected building or entire facility, If necessary.
Standby main gas valve. Stands by to shut off gas supply to facility, If necessary.
Standby sprinkler valve. Stands by to close the fire building sprinkler valve, if necessary.
Traffic coordinator (formerly fire police). Directs fire department to the scene and assists with traffic flow.
Photos courtesy of USCI
Joint drill conducted
The next step was to test the changes that were instituted in the organization. This effort consisted of a drill with the PEO and the Queensbury Central Fire Department, the local fire department that responds to USCI. The drill was set up on a night that is usually reserved for training.
The drill was to include the second-shift PEO and the fire department. The building that was selected for the drill was a wood and steel frame nine-car garage converted to a general maintenance building. It was chosen for this exercise because it was unoccupied at the time that the drill took place.
The building was filled with smoke to simulate real fire conditions. Upon manual activation of the plant’s fire alarm system, the response was supposed to be as follows: The PEO was to arrive on the scene first and then the fire department would respond in its normal fashion for drills (no lights and sirens).
The drill was scheduled to begin at approximately 7:15 p.m. At approximately 6:56 p.m., the plant’s fire alarm system activated. Because this occurred 19 minutes ahead of schedule, the fire officers participating in the drill were not sure whether this alarm was real, or a response to the generation of smoke from the fire building.
Because of the uncertainty, the fire officers at the plant ordered their apparatus to respond as a real emergency until it could be confirmed that the alarm was in response to the generated smoke from the selected fire building. It was later determined that the alarm was manually activated by a section manager in response to several employee reports of smoke coming from the maintenance building.
The drill proved to be somewhat of a challenge to the PEO. Three people from the production floor were moved and concealed elsewhere in the building. This was done to ensure that accurate roll calls were being taken and that thorough building searches were being conducted. All of the missing people were reported by the assigned roll call persons soon after the evacuation began. Those assigned to search the building found all of the missing employees, except one.
When they reported that the buildings were cleared and there was still one missing person, the following actions were taken: First, search teams (two people per team) were sent into each of the buildings to look for the missing person a second time. Also, another roll call was taken to make sure that the missing person was not among a different group of employees.
The missing person eventually was found and escorted to the assigned evacuation area. The other search team member reported to the coordinator that the secondary search was successful and complete.
The entire drill was videotaped and photographed. The tape was reviewed and critiqued by PEO leaders and fire department personnel. A critique was conducted for the members of the secondshift PEO, and there were questions and comments from those who did not participate in the drill.
Lessons learned
Several important lessons were learned as a result of the drill.
- First, and most significant to the PEO leaders, was that the changes instituted were highly successful. PEO members performed as a team. Everyone knew what to do with a minimum of direction.
- Information was complete, accurate, and communicated to the PEO coordinator in a timely and orderly fashion.
- Response stations were manned and ready soon after the alarm sounded.
- PEO functions were working at peak efficiency. By the time the fire department arrived, the PEO was able to tell the fire department what steps had already been taken and what they needed to know about the building. They were also able to help the fire department set up some of their equipment until more manpower arrived on the scene.
- The results of the drill also pointed out some changes that needed to be made to the facility itself. These included: improved lighting in the hydrant houses and the need for PEO personnel to flush plant hydrants before the fire department arrives.
- A positive result of the drill was the improved dialogue between the PEO and the fire depart-
- ment. This took place not only during the organization phase, but immediately before, during, and after the drill itself. The two groups discussed what the PEO’s standard operating procedure (SOP) would have been if the drill had been a real emergency. They also talked about how the PEO could assist the fire department by setting up their equipment, especially if the fire department was shorthanded. Information was readily exchanged between the PEO coordinator and the fire officer in charge of the drill.
SUMMARY
The drill provided the PEO personnel with a new emergency system that has so far proven effective in practice. The local fire department also learned that they can rely on the PEO for assistance during emergencies within the facility. The company needed to improve the organization, training, and experience of their emergency response group. The changes instituted within the PEO fulfilled this need.
As confidence in the system grows, the PEO should evolve into an even more effective tool for the fire department and USCI. Eventually, emergency situations should be under control faster, minimizing damage and loss of production time. Under the new system, the PEO and the fire department have found a way to work together to effectively control an emergency situation when every second may be critical.
Photo courtesy of USCI