色情视频 Emergency Officials Partner with Local Fire Department for Confined Spaces Drill
The annual drill is part of 色情视频s ongoing emergency preparedness and response efforts.
Cooperation and partnerships are critical components when it comes to campus safety and emergency preparedness. With this in mind, 色情视频鈥檚 Office of Emergency Preparedness and the Department of Environmental Health and Safety partnered with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department to host this year鈥檚 confined space rescue drill on April 3-4.
The annual drill is part of the campus鈥� ongoing emergency preparedness and response efforts and helps strengthen the university鈥檚 partnership with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department鈥檚 (SDFD) Technical Rescue Team.
The confined space drill typically takes place during Spring Break to minimize disruptions to campus. For the first time, members of 色情视频鈥檚 Campus Emergency Response Team (CERT) this year also observed the exercise.
Locations such as manholes, utility vaults or underground construction sites are commonly referred to as confined spaces. There are several manholes and utility vaults located across campus, all of which are regularly serviced. These vaults can pose potential risks in the form of physical and atmospheric hazards and can become a gateway to gases and high-pressure steam pipes.
Although employees required to work in these spaces undergo specialized training and have a number of safety protocols that are used to limit exposure to these hazards, unforeseen emergencies can occur.
Testing a response
Knowing that SDFD regularly trains on campus for just such a situation is reassuring. Each year, members of the department鈥檚 Technical Rescue Team, Search and Rescue Team and local fire stations have been invited onto campus for a series of drills designed to test and validate the response capabilities of emergency responders.
鈥淚n the event of a confined space emergency, 色情视频 would contact SDFD, and the fire-rescue department would provide confined space entry rescue services,鈥� said Kristen Ross, occupational safety manager for 色情视频鈥檚 Environmental Health and Safety division. 鈥淧articipating in this essential hands-on training allows 色情视频 to practice our important role in the event SDFD performs an entry rescue.鈥�
This year鈥檚 drill simulated a worker becoming trapped in a utility vault underneath Campanile Mall. The drill included a test of campus communications that resulted in a call to the fire department. Local fire stations responded as they would in a real emergency, followed by specialized elements from the technical rescue team.
Over the course of four hours, firefighters practiced setting up, preparing for and ultimately performing a rescue from the utility vault. SDFD also used the drill as an opportunity to certify its firefighters on the intricacies of a confined space rescue.
鈥淗aving the fire department regularly train on campus is very important for us,鈥� said Lamine Secka, director of 色情视频鈥檚 Office of Emergency Preparedness. 鈥淚t allows the fire department to become more familiar with our campus and its nuances, and it allows our staff the chance to see exactly what the fire department does to assist us. It鈥檚 a win-win for everyone.鈥�
