The Minimum Intervention Force of the Fire Department of Portimão (CBP), without prior notice, responded, on the 28th, at 21 pm, as if it were a real situation of gas leakage, followed by fire, in the Autonomous Unit of Natural Gas Regasification (UAG), from Portimão.
In a partnership between the Civil Protection and Fire Department of Portimão, with Medigás, it was possible to stage an accident involving the release of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), caused by the cracking of the filling hose, involving an unconscious wounded man in need of rescue at the zone of loss.
The entire scenario was repeated on the morning of May 29, at 10:30 am, when the fire service shift had already been over, providing yet another Intervention Brigade with a new challenge.
This UAG completed its first 10 years in May and has undergone extensive maintenance. Features include two 59 cubic meter LNG cryogenic tanks, mixed vaporization (atmospheric and supporting heat exchanger), flow rate 1500 nm3/h and average consumption of three 27000 nm3 cisterns per week.
The simulation was attended by more than a dozen Medigás technicians from the Algarve and Alentejo, as well as a dispatch in the 1st alarm of five vehicles and 16 operators from the Fire Department of Portimão, and the monitoring of the Municipal Command and Service of Civil Protection.
The exercise tested, in addition to the information chain provided for in the Internal Emergency Plan (PEI) and Medigás' response times, the ability of the Fire Service device to intervene in a complex operation with high risk.
The command of the Firefighters Volunteers of Portimão adds that these exercises will soon be replicated to cover the entire workforce of the Fire Department.
The exercises follow on from a Technical Seminar on intervention in gas networks, held within the scope of civil protection month in Portimão, last March, with a presentation on the complete cycle of natural gas from transport – final consumer with special attention to the safety procedures to be adopted in the various foreseeable scenarios of accidents and incidents.
"This initiative is part of the operational training and continuous assessment program of the Firefighters of Portimão, with a view to maintaining a routine of preparation for the various types of occurrence that may occur in the area of operation, as well as diagnosing any needs for improvement and/ or change of procedures, with a view to achieving levels of efficiency adequate to the current requirements in the operational context», adds the Command.
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