EmergencyWardens -E - news
Emergency Wardens e-news: Feb 2012
1
Editor’s Note
Editor’s Note
Silver Award for
Excellence
Major Gas Leak Case
Study
How Should you
R.E.A.C.T™ to Gas
Leaks?
Meet some of our
new recruits
F5M Training
Consultant wins
award for service to
the community
What do our Clients
say about our
services?
In this 7th
Edition This is the 7th Edition of our Quarterly Newsletter. Since its
inception, the newsletter readership has continued increasing
and judging by the feedback we receive, you must be enjoying
it!!
The newsletter is targeted at emergency wardens who undergo
training with our consultants. Our aim is to cement a community
of wardens Australia wide who can share their valuable
experience with each other. It is crucial to have engaged
wardens who feel valued as they are giving up their valuable
time and energy to a laudable cause: Life safety in their
buildings in case of emergencies.
Earlier this month,
An entire bus station on Callam Street, Canberra was evacuated
for about four hours when the driver of a bus smelled gas and
ordered commuters off the vehicle.
The bus company staff and the ACT Fire and Rescue attended
to the gas leak, while bus services were redirected to a layover.
A spokeswoman for Territory and Municipal Services said a loose
part of the gas fuel system on the roof of the bus had been
identified as the cause of the incident.
Gas leaks like the one describe above are unfortunately very
common. If we don’t R.E.A.C.T™ appropriately, the
consequences can be disastrous.
At First 5 Minutes, we have a dedicated team of Training
Consultants to train wardens on how to manage these types of
emergencies.
In this Newsletter, you will be able to read one of the scenarios
on Gas Leaks that we use in our training sessions as well as get
some details on how to R.E.A.C.T™ to them.
Source: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/gas-leak-sparks-emergency-bus-inspections-20130418-2i3dp.html#ixzz2RFKV1zdm
Jay Ramanah, April 2013
2 Emergency Wardens Australia: January 2013
Graeme
Hancock
wins Award
for
Excellence
Build an environment
where people are
encouraged to explore
innovative approaches to
their work.
For the first quarter of 2013,
Graeme Hancock, Training
Consultant from our SA/NT
Business Unit is the recipient
of the Silver Award.
Graeme received the award
for Excellence on the back
of continued commitment to
training as well as
exceptional work carried out
to support the newly
appointed Regional
Manager of the SA/NT
Business unit.
Graeme, Teaching how to use a water
extinguisher, Northern Territory, circa 2012
First 5 Minutes seek to reward
exceptional performance that
supports its values, strategic
goals and vision.
A Reward and Recognition
program was developed to
assist supervisors and managers
to build a culture of
Performance by incorporating
reward and recognition
activities into their
management practices as they:
Positively reinforce
excellence in behaviours and
performance,
Help build staff engagement,
and therefore increases job
satisfaction,
Lead to higher retention rates
of key staff
“Graeme has
stepped up
and is
assisting the
Regional
Manager with
ensuring all
areas of
training and
reporting on
F5M
compliance
are followed
through.”
Sam Thornton, Training
Consultant, SA
He is well respected by his
colleagues and has
contributed immensely in the
coaching and mentoring of
new consultants in the team
Graeme, Teaching how to use a water
extinguisher, Northern Territory, circa 2012
Unfortunately there can only
be one Silver Award for
Excellence winner per quarter
for the whole of First 5 Minutes.
However the following
employees were recognized
for their outstanding
performance in their
respective business units.
Matthew Lane (IT and
Design)
Rosie Samuels (WA)
Rachel Sattler (NSW)
Kevin Webster (QLD)
Robbie Robertson
(VIC/TAS)
Graeme (4TH from right) and his training
colleagues of the SA/NT Team.
3 Emergency Wardens Australia: January 2013
R- Response to a raised
alarm / Raise an alarm
Remain calm.
Raise the alarm and inform
people that they should
stay in place and not start
evacuating.
Dial 000 and inform about
the HAZMAT incident.
E- Examine
Identify the type and
location.
Identify a HAZMAT incident
with gas coming from
outside the building.
If possible, identify the type
of gas being releases
(Toxic, Flammable?)
A – Assess
Identify risks to life safety.
Identify source of gas leak and
direction of wind.
How much time is available for
complete evacuation v/s rate
of propagation of the gas
plume?
Is anyone in danger of a
medical emergency (Gas
inhalation)?
Who on site is competent to
deal with medical
emergencies while waiting for
ambulance to arrive? (CPR,
First Aid etc…)
Where are the AED kits and
First Aid kits in case they need
to be used?
Assess evacuation routes in
case we need to evacuate?
Assess building doors and
windows in case we have to
shelter in place
Assess plume propagation
regularly.
C – Control
If time is limited which is most
likely going to be the case,
latest research recommends
Shelter- in – Place (SIP) as the
safest course of action.
Close doors and windows and
air vents tightly.
Move people away from
doors, windows and any air
vents where gas could enter.
Re-assess plume propagation
regularly and allow
emergency services to assess
quality of air from time to time.
Instruct occupants to end SIP
when given the green light by
emergency services. T- Talk
Keep all wardens informed of
all decisions being taken
Keep informed of the situation
by liaising with Police and Fire
Services.
Keep occupants informed of the situation at all times.
Major Gas
Leak Case
Study.
Fire crews were called to
reports of a large Liquefied
Petroleum (LP) gas leak at
an LPG loading terminal and
storage facility near your
building.
A large marine tanker was in
the process of transferring a
load of LP gas to a shore
based storage tank when a
leak occurred in a relief
valve on the transfer pipe
work. Between 5 and 20
tonnes of LP gas are in the
pipe work. Forty fire-fighters
from eight surrounding
stations are attending the
incident and are
maintaining constant water
sprays onto the leak to
dissipate the gas cloud as
many tonnes of gas were
allowed to escape.
A two hundred meter
exclusion zone was
established around the site,
and your facility is located
just outside the exclusion
zone. Hazmat crews are
constantly monitoring the
surrounding area. Reports of
strong smell of gas are
coming from occupants of
the facility in which you are
a Warden.
How would you and your
ECO R.E.A.C.T™ ?
How to
R.E.A.C.T™
to Gas
Leaks?
4 Emergency Wardens Australia: January 2013
Meet some of
our new
recruits.
We lived in Biloela for 2 years
and Rockhampton for 3. We
had a baby 14 months ago
which made us realise how
much we missed home and
family so we moved back.
Lucky for me my old position
was advertised at First 5
Minutes at the right time and
they were super thrilled to
have me return
What do you like about your
work as F5M?
The friendly staff I work with,
being busy and challenged
and we can’t forget about
the lovely clients I get to talk
to on a daily basis.
What are your main
challenges for the year
ahead?
My main challenge is
balancing being a mum,
working full time and having
a husband who does fly in fly
out with his job. Life is
constantly busy but I
wouldn’t change what I
have for the world.
How do you like to spend
your free time?
Free time, hahaha that’s a
funny one!
SPOT
First 5 Minutes’
Learning
Management
System
Last year, First 5 Minutes
invested huge resources in
revamping SPOT into a full
fledge learning management
system using a platform called
MOODLE. Several courses
have been developed since
and thousands of users have
bought and completed the
courses.
The investment in our LMS is in
line with our corporate
objective to innovate in the
area of web enabled services
making F5M a true leader in
the area of emergency
management, training and
compliance services. We aim
to use the LMS externally to
augment the delivery of face
– to – face training.
What is a Learning
Management System?
A learning management
system (LMS) is a software
application for the
administration,
documentation, tracking,
reporting and delivery of
education courses or training
programs.
LMSs range from systems for
managing training and
educational records to
software for distributing online
or blended/hybrid college
courses over the Internet with
features for online
collaboration
Renee Campbell Admin Assistant – QLD
Who is Renee Campbell?
I am a fun, loving, energetic
mum who enjoys helping others.
I previously worked at First 5
Minutes approximately 5 years
ago. I left to follow my husband
to the mines in Central Qld.
Emergency Wardens e-news: Feb 2012
5
What do our clients
say about our
services?
Bob Howard, one of our Senior Safety
Training Consultant wins a national
medal for 15 years service to the
community.
Bob, while keeping his fulltime job with
F5M has served as a volunteer fire
fighter at Greenbank, a busy
volunteer fire station of the SEQ
region. The award was presented to
him by the Commissioner of the QFRS,
Lee Johnston & Hon Jack Dempsey
Minister of Police & Community safety
on 20th February 2013.
Good on you Bob!!
.
Neville
Western Australia
Hi Alicia,
Thank you first 5 minutes.
I noticed the changes at our warden training
earlier this month.
The improvement was noticeable to all.
It was the best warden training experience in over
10 years.
Thank you to all.
Julie
6 Emergency Wardens Australia: January 2013
We welcome your feedback and contribution to this newsletter.
Write to: Jay Ramanah, General Manager (People, Culture and Training) E: [email protected]
T: 07 33552855