Greenville site teams conduct an emergency response drill.
Last month, our Greenville Site Incident Management Team and Emergency Response Team (ERT) conducted a drill to test the efficacy of our site’s emergency response protocol using a simulated structure fire.
The exercise displayed a real-life testament to the immense work that has gone into crisis planning this past year. Because of training like this, GE Vernova can better prepare for emergencies, even if low frequency, to keep employees and contractors safe.
“In a real-life emergency scenario, you don’t have time to plan, only react,” said Environmental, Chemical, and Emergency Response Leader Kaleb Pietkoski. “That’s why it’s important to be proactive, plan, and train ahead. Know the next steps, know your chain of command, and know who to communicate with.”
To conduct the drill, GE Vernova partnered with E-MED, an emergency training service that specializes in developing customized emergency response training to meet facility needs.
E-MED briefed our on-site Incident Management and Emergency Response teams thoroughly on the drill overview, official roles, crisis instructions, and planning information before commencement.
At news of the drill’s “emergency incident” at 2:00pm the next day, local first responders, law enforcement, and EMS followed protocol and headed to the LNG facility.
Together, all teams worked to contain the fire, rescue three assigned victims, and tend to injuries. Throughout the drill, ERT exercised capabilities including hazard assessment, incident command, providing medical care, safety rescue and more.
“Making decisions during a high-risk scenario is extremely difficult,” said Sr Operational EHS Manager Julia Filiatreau. “This exercise was great because it allowed our teams to practice effective communication and safe responses, which are essential for emergency planning.”
The purpose of the fire and rescue simulations were to account for and eliminate hazards associated with certain response tasks and to compensate for non-responding agencies.
The drill pinpointed any potential challenges or areas for improvement within our protocols through a safe and controlled experiment.
Thanks to everyone involved, the drill proved to be a valuable learning experience!
