Crucial for petrol stations to run regular fire drills, says senior firefighter
SIBU: A fire drill must not be taken lightly as it teaches people, particularly those working in petrol stations, the proper things to do during such emergency.
Sibu Fire and Rescue central station officer Jankey Jikat gave this advice during a briefing held after a fire drill at Emparia Sdn Bhd’s petrol station along Brooke Drive here yesterday.
“A fire drill may look simple, but is necessary so that we know what need to be done in the event of an emergency.
“It doesn’t matter where you are – at home or at work – this exposure is beneficial for everyone,” he pointed out.
Under the drill, the central station ‘ received a distress call from a petrol station at 10.04am’.
Firefighters arrived at the station at 10.14am due to heavy traffic and detours across the town area.
The ‘emergency’ was declared when ‘smoke’ was seen coming from the engine of a car as it was being refuelled.
The petrol station management swiftly brought two ‘ victims’ to safety in 30 seconds. The victims were a petrol station worker and a customer.
In his observation, Jankey said he saw a worker grab a fire extinguisher to put out the ‘fire’.
“If the fire was big, all staff members must help to put out the fire,” he pointed out, praising the management for turning off the main switch at the station.
However, he suggested that the management could improve on the time to gather their staff to the assembly point and to block the entrance to the station, to ensure that total evacuation could take place smoothly.
“Some of the staff members did not assemble – although this was a fire drill, the management must block the entrance to prevent cars from coming into the station.
“It took 30 minutes to complete a fire drill, but in real life, the situation could last longer. In a real situation, the entrance must be blocked so that we could conduct total evacuation,” Jankey pointed out, explaining that this is the standard operating procedure for emergency at all petrol stations.
“In every petrol station, we have to do total evacuation to make sure everyone is safe.”
Jankey also pointed out that a roll- call must be done to ensure that all staff would be accounted for.
“Overall, the fire drill was a success. I would encourage the management to send some of their staff members to attend fire safety courses.”
The drill also involved 14 Fire and Rescue personnel.