Fires can occur for
a multitude of reasons at any type of facility in the aluminium industry. The
Aluminium Plant Safety Blog has a recent story of a fire and how the plant
dealt with the local news media.
The first news media
article at 14:08:
Fire and emergency crews are trying to contain a huge blaze at BHP
Billiton’s Hillside smelter in Richards Bay in South Africa during the week of
November 16, 2014.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage but thick plumes of smoke
billowing from the roof tops can be seen from the John Ross Parkway with Alton
also covered in a black cloud. The blaze is being fanned by strong south
westerly winds. Head of External Affairs at BHP Billiton, confirmed the plant
was in ‘response mode and emergency services had been activated’. ‘We do not
know the cause of the fire as yet, but no injuries have been reported,’ he
said.
The second news media article at 15:05:
The fire
at BHP Billiton Hillside smelter has been extinguished and
firemen from uMhlathuze Fire Services are still on the scene assisting the
Hillside proto team. The cause of the fire which burnt for about an hour is
believed to have been one the transformers which receive the high voltage Eskom
power. At face value damage will run into hundreds of thousands of Rands but it
is not yet known what affect the blaze will have on production or how long it
would take to restore the power.
The Aluminium Plant
Safety Blog congratulates this aluminium plant on successfully enacting their
emergency management plan. No workers nor firemen were injured fighting this
blaze. The APSB commends the immediate response from the company in responding to
the local media. Providing information to the news media allows for a clear concise
message to be put forth. Without it, the news media will make assumptions and
there is a greater possibility that there assumptions will be incorrect.
Immediately interacting with the news media also allows the family and friends
of the aluminium workers who are at the site to understand the situation. There
have been several instances where an incident occurred and the aluminium
company said “no comment” or even denied that anything occurred. With no
information the concerned family members traveled to the gates of the aluminium
company inquiring if their loved ones were safe. Also, at the gate were the
news media, who with only “no comment” from the aluminium company were
interested interviewing anyone for their opinion. Again, “no comment” means
that the aluminium company has chosen to allow others to speak for them. Which
is always a mistake.
Please
Comment (pun not intended).
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