PPG Wroclaw, Ready for Anything!
The team at the Wroclaw Architectural Coatings Plant in Poland proved recently that they really are ready for anything as a simulation of a major accident and rescue action was recently carried out.
At PPG we take the safety of our workforce and sites very seriously but drills of this magnitude are only held every five years.
The site held joint drills with PPG employees and city emergency services taking part over two days. More than 50 firefighters, paramedics & police officers were part of the massive and perfectly synchronised event.
Practice for the drill was precise and had been planned for several weeks to the finest detail. To capitalise on every single benefit of the test, the agenda was meticulously prepared. The big question was around the procedure in the event of a serious accident, the Wroclaw AC team needed to know if they were ready to manage a situation of this significance and provide sufficient rescue action working together with emergency services.
The drill was divided in two parts. In the first scenario a fire was simulated in the raw material tanks area. At the specified time, the sirens in the site sounded which signalled the evacuation of the hazardous area and the firefighter units dashed into plant to provide professional rescue action.
The second scenario was concerned with the dangers around chemicals as the team simulated a leak in the TDI tank, a huge potential risk as it's a very hazardous substance. Firefighters had to identify the danger, find the crack in the tank and seal it with special equipment.
The results of the drills were very good. The team were praised by Wroclaw’s authorities for their level of preparedness for any kind of situation and showed excellent cooperation with rescue services.