Margao: August 30, 2018 … The efficacy and the skills to attend emergency response were shown by the entire team of the District Crisis Group with apt handling of the situation, South Goa District under the leadership of the Collector & District Magistrate, Dr. Tariq Thomas, today.
The drill was conducted in the Indian Oil Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Vasco with the scenario being leakage of petrol followed by fire. The scenario created was due to leakage in inlet valve of one of the oil tank of IOCL leading to fire and with the wind direction the adjacent HPCL tank catching fire.
The drill continued for about forty minutes during which fire fighting and cooling operation were carried out and readiness of the various line agencies along with the industry for handling such emergencies was established. The medical team also showed their preparedness to handle such situations by treating all dummy patients having minor injuries, as per planned scenario including shifting of patients with major burn injuries with due first aid.
The vendors/establishment in and around the vegetable and fruit market showed keen interest in the drill by participating in the conduct of the exercise.
Later, the Dy. Collector and Incident Commander for the drill, Shri Mahadev Araundekar at the debriefing stressed the importance of effective coordination between fires services and rescue services. Shri Araundekar complimenting the team for the excellent fire fighting and emergency handling abilities showcased during the Mock Drill also analysed the strength and areas for improvement. The quick responses by Fire Tenders of not only IOL & HPCL but also the Mutual Aid partners were acknowledged.
At the debriefing held at Ravindra Bhavan, Baina, Vasco Shri Araundekar stressed the need to follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) by all the line agencies participating in the drill. Time is is very much important to face disaster like situation, he said. He appreciated the work of Police Department and Fire and Emergency Services. The communication gap along with evacuation part requires improvement, he pointed.
He said, in emergency, everything is time bound and that is why these mock drills are performed to see the prepadeness of all the agencies in situation of actual incident. Let us work in coordination and cooperation he appealed. He highlighted the various good things at the drill and also pointed the various areas for improvement. There is no scope of avoiding any duty during emergency he remarked.
