The exercise involved the simulation of a fuel tanker colliding with a matatu stopping to drop passengers at a roundabout resulting in oil spillage and casualties
Oil marketing companies, fuel transporters, and emergency recovery teams today held a highway emergency response drill in Nairobi to test and evaluate response-ability and create awareness on what to do in the event of an accident involving petroleum tankers.
The drill was spearheaded by the Petroleum Institute of East Africa and involved response teams from St. John’s Ambulance, the Kenya Police, Nairobi City County Government Ambulance and Fire Engine, and the National Disaster Management Unit.
It involved the simulation of a fuel tanker colliding with a matatu stopping to drop passengers at a roundabout resulting in oil spillage and casualties. The first responders to the site were the Kenya Police who contained the accident site and helped attend to the injured.
The next team to arrive were followed by the St. John’s Ambulance team which responded within 15 minutes of the incident. Those severely injured were rushed to hospital.
The teams present held a debrief after the drill to analyse the exercise and provide learning recommendations to encourage efficient emergency response in future.
“Emergency response teams need to regularly test their equipment to ensure they can respond well to any incidents. It is also important to manage any fuel spillage to prevent any secondary incidents from occurring,” OLA Energy Kenya health and safety committee chairman Ernest Changwony, said.
Accidents involving petroleum tankers are deadly and would result in fire leading to damages, severe injuries, and loss of lives. This was evidenced by a petroleum tanker that was involved in an accident in Githurai last year (July) and the deadly 2009 accident in Sachangwan that saw over 100 people lose their lives.
“Emergency responders should practice coordination, communication, control, and command when responding to such incidents. Response teams should also keep priorities in mind to ensure that those required to respond first do so and those not needed at the scene of the accident move out to give room for others to access it,” National Disaster Management Unit Chief Administration Officer, Cyrus Maina, said.
“It is also important to keep records of those responding to the incident to allow them to keep the objectives for incident command in mind,” Maina said.
In attendance was a representative from the Energy, Petroleum and Regulatory Authority (EPRA), Petroleum Institute of East Africa General Manager, Wanjiku Manyara, oil marketing companies, fuel transporters and the OLA Energy Kenya Fleet Manager, Joseph Kinyanjui.
