9:20am Friday 26th June 2009
Emergency response procedures at Murco Refinery in Milford Haven have been put to the test by a huge crisis simulation exercise.
A huge fire was central to the practical operation at the refinery earlier this month, aimed at testing emergency response procedures across the region.
The imaginary oil tank fire was based on a similar scenario to the Tank 11 fire that occurred at the site in 1984, when owned by Amoco.
More than 100 firefighters from across West Wales including crews from Milford Haven, Pembroke Dock and Haverfordwest rushed to the site, as part of the exercise. Some fire crews came from as far away as Ammanford and brought specialist appliances to work with Murco’s on-site emergency teams.
The simulated crisis involved a wide range of organisations from across the county and west Wales including the police, the Environment Agency, the Health and Safety Executive, the NHS and the Pembrokeshire Emergency Planning Department.
A silver command was set up at Haverfordwest police station when the simulated fire grew so large it was deemed a COMAH (control of major accidents and hazards) incident.
Avoiding any potential harm to the local community and the environment were two central elements of this vast exercise.
The crisis simulation also gave fire fighters the chance to test the Big Guns, new equipment purchased by Murco and Chevron, to deal with major oil tank fires and are the only ones of their kind in Wales.
The powerful hoses throw foam and water at an impressive rate of 36,000 litres per minute.
Murco senior safety co-ordinator Eddie Davies said the daylong exercise had been a resounding success.
“It’s extremely important that the Murco refinery thoroughly tests its emergency response plan.
“It reassures our local community that, in the unlikely event an incident like this happens for real, Murco would be able to confidently and effectively deal with the situation,” he added.
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