The team using emergency hydration system to put out the fire
Blue Ocean Investments, bulk distributors of petroleum products, has held a successful full-scale tier-3 emergency simulation exercise at its multi-purpose terminal at Kpone, Tema.
The exercise involved the simulation of leakage from an LPG truck using inert gas.
It required the administration of first aid and ambulance responses and the activation of internal emergency systems at the depot before external emergency services took over.
It also involved the assembling of the crisis management command teams at the company’s head office, as well as depot.
The exercise, which commenced from 1-4pm, demonstrated the robustness of the safety systems and team, while simultaneously revealing areas for improvement to ensure a seamless response.
The Managing Director of Blue Ocean Investments, Yahaya Yunusa, emphasized the company’s commitment to health and safety in all its operations, placing premium on human life.
“At Blue Ocean Investments, health and safety is our number one priority. We will not wait for a real incident to get our house in order.
“While it is important to ensure that we can continue to serve our customers’ needs following a crisis, one simply cannot place value on human life.
“We will therefore not compromise on ensuring that our workers, our customers and our surrounding community are safe by putting our systems to the test and enhancing them where needed,” said Mr. Yunusa.
For his part, the Head of Operations of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Paul Assifuah Baidoo, commended Blue Ocean Investments for the swiftness of its internal emergency team that had already commenced the fighting of the fire prior to the arrival of GNFS.
“I was impressed by the Blue Ocean Team and how they had already begun fighting fire with state-of-the-art equipment before we arrived on the scene.
“We were directed right to the incident which enabled us to leap into action quickly. It would however be ideal to ensure that the incident commander hands over to the GNFS to coordinate the response once on site, but this was not done.
The Environmental, Health and Safety Director of the Kpone Municipal Assembly, Jonas Ablade, added that “Blue Ocean did well to leave the loading trucks at the bay instead of trying to evacuate them, as this could cause further emergencies such as spills and fires. After all in disaster management, the main aim is to save lives, property and the environment,” said Mr. Ablade.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri