Offsite mock drill to enhance industry safety standards

Visakhapatnam: With an aim to further strengthen the safety standards of industries and enhance the ability to respond in a coordinated manner in emergency situations, a level-3 Emergency Response and Disaster Management Plan offsite mock drill was carried out at Narava village.

Jointly conducted by HPCL-Visakh Refinery, Visakhapatnam Dispatch Station, the mock drill included real-time situations.

As part of it, response measures were demonstrated by simulating situations like fire and product leakage technically. Immediate identification of incident information and implementation of alert system, control of the affected area, fire control measures, evacuation of personnel and local people to safe areas were coordinated.

Fire services, district administration, police department, medical department, industrial safety teams and other emergency services departments coordinated in the drill, showcasing their response capacity.

Providing first aid to the injured, testing the effectiveness of communication systems and further improving coordination between various departments were demonstrated at the site.

Speaking on the occasion, officials said that level-3 offsite mock drills will enhance the preparedness of organisations to effectively deal with emergencies and strengthen coordination between departments.

HPCL chief general manager L.V. Nageswara Rao, HPCL deputy general manager Vikram Singh, Joint Chief Inspector of Factories J. Shiva Shankar, deputy chief inspector of factories B Suresh and other staff participated.