Groups pleased with mock disaster drill held by ExxonMobil’s refinery, which included parish government and its Fire Department, S.B.S.O., St. Bernard Hospital and Prompt Succor School
Shown in the command center at ExxonMobil Refinery in Chalmette during a mock disaster drill are, seated from left clockwise: Guy Swinford of ExxonMobil, St. Bernard Director of Homeland Security John Rahaim, Fire Department officials Kane Bruder and deputy Chief Glenn Ellis, Maj. Mark Poche of the Sheriff’s Office and Mike Moolekamp of the Fire Department.
Some of the ExxonMobil employees involved in the mock disaster drill are shown
“I thought it was a good community test,’’ Parish Fire Chief Thomas Stone said. “It was a test for the refinery, the closest school which is Our Lady of Prompt Succor, the parish’s First Call system for notifying residents, the Sheriff’s Office and St. Bernard Hospital.’’
The drill showed “good cooperation between industry and government,’’ Stone said afterward, adding, “We are lucky’’ because that type of working together isn’t always true in other parishes.
Sheriff James Pohlmann said, “It’s important to practice for possible emergencies in St. Bernard Parish to make sure there is cooperation between groups before you might have to deal with the real thing. We were glad to take part.’’
Guy Swinford of Exxon Mobil, which hosted the drill, was in charge of refinery response, working in a command center and receiving reports from the field. Maj. Mark Poche of the Sheriff’s Office, Parish Government Homeland Security Director John Rahaim and Fire Department officials Deputy Chief Glenn Ellis, Kane Bruder and Mike Moolekamp were also in the center and talking to other personnel,
The emergency simulation involved a scenario of a two-vehicle accident within the plant, with a truck leaking hydro fluoric acid, which can cause chemical burns to lungs and skin burns. Immediate irrigation of eyes also is required. The driver of one truck needed to be de-contaminated and examined after the crash.
The Sheriff’s Office shut down intersections near the affected area of the drill nearest the plant in Chalmette and in a real emergency would use a public address system to tell residents to shelter in their homes or to evacuate.
Parish government used its First Call emergency notification system to notify about 400 residents within a ½-mile area outside the refinery about the drill, officials said. More than 300 of the calls, or about 80 percent, were delivered, they said.
St. Bernard Parish residents should enroll in the First Call system, parish government officials said, by going online to www.sbpg.net – the parish’s web site – to be notified about emergencies by cell phone and receive instructions on what to do. Or they can enroll by calling the parish Office of Emergency Preparedness at (504) 278-4268.
Information on land lines for homes and businesses is already in the parish’s 911 data base.
A shelter-in-place was called for residents instead of an evacuation.
The nearest school to the refinery, Our Lady of Prompt Succor School on Paris Road, took part and students there were instructed to shelter in place inside the building.
St. Bernard Hospital official Wayne Landry said he was pleased with the hospital’s response, saying such drills “keep our staff prepared for any disasters, spills or any other emergency situation.’’
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