May 15, 1998

Do you recognize these suits? The true story

Are we preparing for an alien invasion? Perhaps filming a sequel to Outbreak? Actually it is not science fiction but training exercises for the worst of all possible emergencies.

Those who happened to be by the Phillips Service Building several weeks ago, or perused pictures in the May 1 edition of Folio, would have been alarmed by the unearthly activities they observed.

The shrouded beings are members of the U of A Dangerous Goods Response Team (DGRT) and the Edmonton Emergency Response Department (EERD) engaging in a joint training exercise.

A day in the life of a Dangerous Goods Response Team member is not a costume party. They train to fight fires and other catastrophes under the pall of toxic gas and other hazardous chemical vapors and liquids. On a campus with more than 1,000 labs containing dangers as diverse as a nuclear reactor, rocket fuel and life-threatening bacteria, our exemplary safety record is hard won.

Each year Fire Protection Officer Ray Richards and Captain Brian Paziuk of the Edmonton Emergency Response Department create a live incident training scenario for trainees to become familiar with a variety of crisis situations. These drills take a long time to set up requiring an enormous amount of equipment, professional staff, and backup support. Richards says, "The drills must be as challenging and realistic as possible without anybody getting hurt." The DGRT relies heavily upon the expertise of those at the Physical Plant Control Center where all the direct lines are managed.

"It would be impossible to do our jobs without the expertise of those at the Physical Plant and the Environmental Health and Safety Office.[and ] the front-line people -- the lab technicians and site supervisors."

The other key factor for effective crisis management is to know your buildings, plans, and procedures. Everyone must know their individual responsibilities and must have practiced implementing them as a team before an emergency occurs. It is the duty of the chemical specialist at the Environmental Health and Safety Office to know what and where chemicals and potentially hazardous compounds are located in each building and know the effective response procedures for each chemical.

The DGRT has 600 trained volunteer fire wardens within the university. Canadian legislation requires that all those who work with or who are in close proximity to a controlled (hazardous) product receive instruction. The volunteers, site supervisors, and principal investigators are either WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Material Information System) trained or have fire safety training. "Volunteers including the fire wardens and support staff are the lifeblood of the DGRT. Their time, energy, and efforts are invaluable."

Unfortunately, many volunteers are not on campus during the summer causing monitoring and safety difficulties for the remaining thinly stretched DGRT staff.

Despite the large number of potential hazards, the U of A has a good track record and is improving. For the past 10 years, average fire related costs have been $74,000 a year. In 1997-98, however, costs were held to only $5,750. This substantial reduction is credited to the more than 16,000 fire detection devices now on campus.

Incidents training, such as the recent one at the Phillips Service Building are critical in reducing risk. In July of 1996, the DGRT and the EERG simulated a fire in the underground tunnel system on campus complete with smoke and a hidden mannequin for rescue.

Real emergencies included the puncture of an underground gas pipe during LRT construction in July 1992. The ruptured pipe forced gas into building basements and out into the open. The Emergency Response Team evacuated several buildings on campus without any injuries and avoided the very real dangers that could have occurred.

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