Drills in real time and on city streets can help improve emergency response
CRESSKILL—The mock scenario conducted by Public Service Electric and Gas Co. and emergency responders unfolded like this: A high school student told a teacher that she smelled gas. At the same time, an excavator called in to say he had damaged a pipeline.
Those actions set in motion a drill designed to improve response to a gas emergency, said Kevin Carr, emergency preparedness manager for the utility’s gas operations. PSE&G conducted 10 such drills in 2016, and is passing on what it has learned to other utilities in the state.
Carr told American Gas that the company chooses scenarios and settings for its drills that could be challenging. Drills are not just conducted at training facilities, but in residential neighborhoods, on dead-end streets or inside office buildings that might be difficult to reach.
The one in Cresskill took place next to a high school on a day when students were absent. Teachers took part, as did firefighters, police officers, town officials and the local 911 center.
The responders faced challenges: where to stage vehicles, how far personnel should be from a building that could be filled with gas, how to coordinate their actions, how to handle hazardous materials and how to make sure they were all using and understanding the same terminology. Some participants playing the part of residents who had to be evacuated pretended they couldn’t speak English, and an enterprising emergency responder used Google Translate to get the point across.
Carr said planning for the drills begins with meetings among town officials to select a location and the players. Further planning meetings follow, and evaluations take place before and after the exercise. So far, company officials have learned a lot—for instance, how important it is for all participants to interpret readings within the building the same way, and how important it is for terminology and protocols to be consistent.
Carr said he has reached out to utilities in Georgia and California that have conducted drills, and other New Jersey utilities are in the process of setting up such exercises.
“There’s a lot we can work on together to get a better response protocol,” he said.