Smoke of another kind of fire

An unfamiliar orange smoke emanating from the Sonae Arauco premises in Rocky Drift recently had residents speculating over the possible cause.

The orange smoke originated from a major emergency drill involving the company’s internal emergency teams in cooperation with the Off Road Rescue Unit (Orru) and ER24.

The date and extent of the simulation was only known by key role players involved in the planning.

The orange smoke originated from a machine that was utilised to simulate smoke that would occur during a real incident.

The scenario created for this emergency drill was acted out by plant personnel repairing a defective cylinder anchor point.

They conducted welding, cutting and grinding work. During this simulated task, the bunker “caught fire” and an “explosion” occurred. A secondary “explosion” occurred at a forward reverse belt.

The personnel were simulated as being critically injured and still on the platform at the bunker.

The bunker and the belt area were “burning” and there was no proper access route to the bunker area as the entire area was engulfed in “flames” and smoke, and the “safety” of the stairs was questionable.

This setting created an opportunity for the internal team to realise that they will need assistance from external emergency services and Orru and ER24 were contacted.

On their arrival, the internal fire team contained the “fire” enough for Orru to gain access to the bunker and lower the “critically injured” to a point of safety, from which ER24 took over and treated them.

“As a company we take every precaution to ensure the safety of our employees,” said Dionne Harber, CITO of Sonae Arauco. “Regular exercise with our internal emergency teams and making use of the experience and expertise of Orru and ER24, is just one of those.”

He said that efforts to further improve emergency response plans will follow from this simulation.

Sonae Arauco thanked Orru and ER24 for their input and participation in the successful emergency simulation