Fire Drill at Bank of Ceylon Headquarters
6:42pm on Friday 11th October 2013
The Fire and Rescue team of the Sri Lanka Air Force in collaboration with the Colombo Fire Brigade conducted a successful fire fighting and rescue exercise this evening (11th October 2013) at Bank of Ceylon Headquarters Colombo.
More than 1500 personnel from the Bank of Ceylon with the assistance of fire wardens of the respective floors participated in the fire drill. Fifty five highly skilled personnel of the SLAF fire and rescue team with fifteen fire fighters from the Colombo Fire Brigade participated in the fire fighting and rescue exercise which was designed primarily to prepare the employees in the complex for an emergency situation. The exercise was carried out under the instruction of Chief Fire Officer of the SLAF Group Captain PMCP Dias who was present at the location throughout the exercise.
Speaking to SLAF Media Squadron Leader Hettiarachchi the officer in charge of the fire and rescue team had this to say: “This is the twelfth successful fire drill we conducted this year. Following the successful response at Millennium IT Software (Pvt) Ltd, we chose Bank of Ceylon as our next location. The Bank of Ceylon is a leading state institution housed in high rise building, a reason which makes it essential that the employees are well prepared in the event of a fire.”
The fire officer of the Bank of Ceylon Mr JV Jayasena coordinated the rescue operation of the employees in three phases and employees were made aware of the rescue patterns accordingly. At the sounding of the fire alarm, Bank of Ceylon personnel evacuated the building within a matter of a few minutes as a simulated fire blazed atop the front of the complex. The second and third phases of the rescue operation focused on taking personnel who were trapped within the building to safety with the assistance of rescue personnel.
This evacuation drill demonstrated rescue operations relevant to high-rise buildings. It included a roof top rescue where people who had fled to the top of the building to escape the simulated fire and were brought down 33 floors along the exterior of the building using special ropes and harnesses. The SLAF Fire and Rescue Unit employed a Bronto Sky Lift to rescue employees of the upper floors while staff in the lower floors were afforded a smooth landing by use of the ‘jumping sheet’ (an inflated landing pad) which was placed on the ground. There were also live demonstrations by the CMC fire brigade on the use of high-pressure fire hoses to put out fires, initial reactions for chemical fire with breathing apparatus and providing first aid to victims of the fire.
In addition, SLAF firemen swung on ropes to display some daring rescue efforts, climbing down the walls carrying individuals in safety harness while in one hair raising rescue the SLAF Fireman carried an individual on ropes strung from the 17th floor of the Bank of Ceylon to an adjoining building.
The effective rescue operation was carried out within a time of around 30 minutes which concluded with the bank employees applauding the dedicated efforts of the SLAF Firemen.
Other links
http://zeenews.india.com/photogallery/day-in-pics-11th-october_3044.html
More than 1500 personnel from the Bank of Ceylon with the assistance of fire wardens of the respective floors participated in the fire drill. Fifty five highly skilled personnel of the SLAF fire and rescue team with fifteen fire fighters from the Colombo Fire Brigade participated in the fire fighting and rescue exercise which was designed primarily to prepare the employees in the complex for an emergency situation. The exercise was carried out under the instruction of Chief Fire Officer of the SLAF Group Captain PMCP Dias who was present at the location throughout the exercise.
Speaking to SLAF Media Squadron Leader Hettiarachchi the officer in charge of the fire and rescue team had this to say: “This is the twelfth successful fire drill we conducted this year. Following the successful response at Millennium IT Software (Pvt) Ltd, we chose Bank of Ceylon as our next location. The Bank of Ceylon is a leading state institution housed in high rise building, a reason which makes it essential that the employees are well prepared in the event of a fire.”
The fire officer of the Bank of Ceylon Mr JV Jayasena coordinated the rescue operation of the employees in three phases and employees were made aware of the rescue patterns accordingly. At the sounding of the fire alarm, Bank of Ceylon personnel evacuated the building within a matter of a few minutes as a simulated fire blazed atop the front of the complex. The second and third phases of the rescue operation focused on taking personnel who were trapped within the building to safety with the assistance of rescue personnel.
This evacuation drill demonstrated rescue operations relevant to high-rise buildings. It included a roof top rescue where people who had fled to the top of the building to escape the simulated fire and were brought down 33 floors along the exterior of the building using special ropes and harnesses. The SLAF Fire and Rescue Unit employed a Bronto Sky Lift to rescue employees of the upper floors while staff in the lower floors were afforded a smooth landing by use of the ‘jumping sheet’ (an inflated landing pad) which was placed on the ground. There were also live demonstrations by the CMC fire brigade on the use of high-pressure fire hoses to put out fires, initial reactions for chemical fire with breathing apparatus and providing first aid to victims of the fire.
In addition, SLAF firemen swung on ropes to display some daring rescue efforts, climbing down the walls carrying individuals in safety harness while in one hair raising rescue the SLAF Fireman carried an individual on ropes strung from the 17th floor of the Bank of Ceylon to an adjoining building.
The effective rescue operation was carried out within a time of around 30 minutes which concluded with the bank employees applauding the dedicated efforts of the SLAF Firemen.
Other links
http://zeenews.india.com/photogallery/day-in-pics-11th-october_3044.html
