Esso Terminal prepares if disaster hits in an emergency simulation
Sirens blared as fire trucks and an ambulance raced down Central American Boulevard en route to the Esso Terminal near the Port of Belize. Traffic was redirected in the area and the employees were evacuated. Fire authorities set out to tackle a fire at one of the tanks while BERT personnel removed three persons who supposedly perished in the blaze. It was dangerous situation and drew the attention of several bystanders. But there’s a happy ending to this seemingly tragic story… it was all a simulation. According to Terminal Manager, Jose Espat, the drill was one of several that are conducted each year to prepare if a real disaster hits.
Jose Espat, Terminal Manager, Esso
“We had a fire simulation exercise and the assumption is that one of our mogass tanks were on fire. There were three casualties and that involved all the local response authorities.”
Delahnie Bain
“Could you tell us a bit about how this played out?”
Jose Espat
jose espat
“It’s considered a success. It gives an opportunity to review our emergency preparedness plans and to put them into practice; to critique and to engage in a continuous improvement process.”
Delahnie Bain
“Were there any areas in particular that need improvement?”
Jose Espat
“I believe the interface with the authorities, especially the effectiveness of the command center could be improved.”
Delahnie Bain
“In terms of getting out all the employees and so on, how was that?”
Jose Espat
“It was rather effective. Each one of our drills requires an evacuation and the results were exceptional.”
Delahnie Bain
“And did they know about this before or just you?”
Jose Espat
“Normally, we inform only the heads of the functions. The entire staff is not aware so it is an unexpected drill. Part of our preparedness is for us to carry out a drill once a year of all our emergency response plans, which includes bomb threats, includes fire, includes hurricane, includes confined space entry, civil unrest and intruder drill.”
