REGULAR TRAINING EXERCISES FOR FIREFIGHTERS
Training exercises are carried out by the Voluntary Fire Brigade Sprockhövel (Haßlinghausen Fire Service) on our site at regular intervals so that firefighters can gain more experience with special firefighting practices. Two training scenarios were completed this year: rescuing a person jammed in a car using cutting devices and rescuing people from a burning office building when the escape routes are filled with smoke. After preparations had been completed on our HGV parking lot, the fire brigade dispatch centre was informed at 8 a.m. about two “accidents for training purposes”. Two fire engines arrived a few minutes later – a fire engine with a turntable ladder and the fire engine used by the local fire brigade. Numerous firefighters participated in the training exercises.
In the first scenario, the firefighters initially had to work out how to quickly remove a container weighing more than 3 tonnes that had fallen on top of a car. The emergency personnel resolved this problem by attaching the rope winch on the fire engine to the container and pulling it to the side. The person (dummy) jammed in the car was then rescued using hydraulic cutting equipment and first aid was administered to the victim.
In the second scenario, the empty office building nearby was filled with smoke using a smoke machine. The aim of the exercise was to use heavy breathing apparatus to rescue employees who were still in the building and unable to use the escape routes and also to fight the fire. Stretchers were used to carry injured people out of the building. This training exercise was also completed quickly and professionally by the emergency services.
After more than three hours, the training exercises were concluded to the satisfaction of everybody involved. A short debriefing session that included all participants was held after the training exercises at the deployment site to discuss the rescue and any possible areas for improvement.
We regularly carry out these types of exercises at our site. It benefits both the firefighters and our employees and ultimately helps us all in the event of a real emergency.