KPJ Damai Hospital holds disaster drill
KOTA KINABALU: KPJ Damai Specialist Hospital conducted a disaster drill yesterday to train its staff to be well-prepared for disasters.
Its medical director, Dr Lim Keok Tang, said the drill was carried out every year but the hospital had decided to make the training exercise more comprehensive this year by staging scenarios involving firearms, fire and toxic chemicals.
The police and Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) also participated in the drill.
“Our objective is to train the readiness of our staff in the event of a disaster,” Lim said.
A total of 65 staff at KPJ Damai and an estimated 50 Bomba and police personnel took part in the exercise.
He said the drill also enhanced the understanding between the hospital and the Bomba and police, thereby ensuring good coordination if disaster struck.
The first scenario entailed shots fired at the police by one of five suspects from the fourth floor of the hospital. Police personnel immediately entered the building and attempted to negotiate with the suspects.
However, the negotiation failed resulting in one suspect being ‘shot dead’ by the police, one seriously injured while the remaining three suffered light injuries.
The second scenario was a usual Bomba rescue operation of staff who were trapped in the building.
The third scenario involved the police and Bomba’s Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) Unit who worked together in extracting and transferring toxic chemicals found in a car at the parking lot.
Sabah Hazmat Unit chief Mohammad Hannis Moktar said the drill yesterday involved both the operations team and Hazmat team from Bomba.
“The operations team is involved in putting out the fire in the building and rescuing the victims, while the Hazmat team is tasked with extracting the hazardous chemical substance found in a car at the parking lot.”
He said the staged fire incident in the building took 20 minutes to extinguish whereas the hazardous substance took 15 minutes to remove.
He said the drill not only promote Bomba’s cooperation with other agencies including the police force, but also enhanced the readiness level of the participants.