Train disaster drill keeps rescuers ready
SIMULATION of a train rail disaster has been organised and conducted by Disaster Risk Management in collaboration with Transnet, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), the City’s Fire and Rescue Service, Metrorail, the SA Police Service, the SANDF and Emergency Medical Services.
The exercise was held at Monte Vista station, where a simulation of a Metrorail train and a Prasa train crashing into one another was executed. The scenario involved one of the trains causing a hazardous chemical leak.
Some employees of the various agencies who took part in the exercise dressed up as potential injured citizens, faking broken arms, legs, and burns for the purpose of the educational assessment. Fire trucks, police cars, and training ambulances were all called to the scene. Staff didn’t know what the exercise drill would include, yet they worked to identify and rescue 15 patients, two of whom were minors. All the “patients” were then treated by Emergency Medical Care providers on the scene.
Disaster Management co-ordinated the various role-players to employ strategic decision-making between all the participating services and external role-players, as they would in the case of a real emergency.
Spokesperson Charlotte Powell said drills were held to “ensure that we’re as prepared as we can be in the event of a disaster, and also (to identify) any potential shortcomings that need to be addressed”.
JP Smith, mayco member for safety and security, said the purpose of the exercise was to test response times, contingency plans and teamwork.
Major drills like this one in Monte Vista take place annually. Another train drill, conducted earlier this year in Simon’s Town, simulated a crash that released a hazardous ammonia cloud influenced by wind shifts, preparing staff for a particularly distressing environment and testing their capabilities.
Zino Mihi, the spokesperson for Prasa, said: “We need simulations like this so that when accidents happen we are not shocked and are able to deal with them.”