Albereth
Honorary Master
I was fortunate to be invited to a disaster management exercise held in the the little town of Bethal on Wednesday. Basically two motor vehicles collided with a Sasol tanker full of acetone causing it to flip on its side. A Unitrans tanker full of diesel plowed into the back of that. A third car tried to avoid the collision and went over the bridge and landed on top of a freight train carrying hexene. Bodies and injured everywhere. The tankers rupted and chemicals were pumping. They used brightly coloured water to simulate the chemical spill as well as some non-toxic gas. It looked like a Hollywood film set.
They then had members of the 'public' phone in the accident.
And then we waited.
And in the distance you hear the sirens as the ambulances and fire engines start arriving. Hairs stand up.
It was the awesome!
Hats off to the paramedics working in the sun to get the people out while wearing full kit.
Where mistakes made? Of course. But then this is what these exercises are about - making the mistakes and learning from them in an exercise so that the real deal goes a lot smoother.
The SAPS were really impressive. They had motorcyclists patrolling the area, warning people to stay clear. Very effective to see them roam rather than just park off at an intersection.
The Transnet Freight Rail peeps had some cool equipment. You had guys in full on hazmat suits checking for gas leaks and then going through a decontamination shower. And they mopped up the 'chemicals' and then put a layer of foam on top.
We've had similar exercises in Jhb but they have tended to annoy motorists. This lot used a PR company and had little fly sheets to hand out to motorists and pedestrians telling them about the exercise and had a map with alternative routes around the scene. And I guess that brings it back to what CAER stands for - Community Awareness and Emergency Response.
They then had members of the 'public' phone in the accident.
And then we waited.
And in the distance you hear the sirens as the ambulances and fire engines start arriving. Hairs stand up.
It was the awesome!
Hats off to the paramedics working in the sun to get the people out while wearing full kit.
Where mistakes made? Of course. But then this is what these exercises are about - making the mistakes and learning from them in an exercise so that the real deal goes a lot smoother.
The SAPS were really impressive. They had motorcyclists patrolling the area, warning people to stay clear. Very effective to see them roam rather than just park off at an intersection.
The Transnet Freight Rail peeps had some cool equipment. You had guys in full on hazmat suits checking for gas leaks and then going through a decontamination shower. And they mopped up the 'chemicals' and then put a layer of foam on top.
We've had similar exercises in Jhb but they have tended to annoy motorists. This lot used a PR company and had little fly sheets to hand out to motorists and pedestrians telling them about the exercise and had a map with alternative routes around the scene. And I guess that brings it back to what CAER stands for - Community Awareness and Emergency Response.