"more than 75 fire firefighters responded to the fire...."

The importance of practicing and drilling for emergency evacuations is a must to ensure safety for all individuals in the workplace. Here is a recent incident highlighting the importance of emergency evacuation drills.

A fire at the (aluminium diecasting) building on (location omitted) is under investigation, a fire department spokesperson said.

The fire was reported just after 2:45 p.m. at the building on (location omitted). A plume of black smoke could be seen from miles away.

Employees had already started evacuating before (location) Fire Department crews got to the scene. Firefighters found flames inside one of the building's smoke stacks.

There was fire in other parts of the building, but because of high-voltage lines and other safety hazards firefighters had to wait for the building's power to be shut down to use more aggressive firefighting tactics.

(local) Gas and Electric was able to cut the power, and (local fire department) crews began cutting away parts of the building's roof. They found more fire spreading under the roof pieces. In the end, crews opened up about 50 feet of roof in order to reach flames and smoke.

In total, more than 75 fire firefighters responded to the fire including nine engine companies, five ladder companies and three ambulances. Crews began clearing the scene around 6:45 p.m., though reserve crews were assigned to serve as fire watch at the building.

We are thankful that no one was injured during the emergency evacuation and the fighting of the fire. There is little doubt that this diecasting facility is well practiced in emergency evacuations. Over the past decade, this workplace has had over 30 times that the fire department has responded to fires. That is to call the fire department every four months is excessive to say the least. We are unaware of an aluminium plant that has called in a fire with more frequency.

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