COMMUNITY OUTREACH & INVOLVEMENT
NETL-Albany Teams up with Firefighters to Practice Confined Space Rescues
A drill conducted at the NETL research campus in Albany, Oregon, gave firefighters and the Lab’s emergency response organization (ERO) the opportunity to overcome several challenging obstacles and coordinate efforts in a simulation to rescue personnel trapped in a confined space filled with toxic gas.
As part of a full-scale emergency exercise, members of the City of Albany Fire Department responded to NETL to rescue a pair of “unconscious workers” (life size rescue dummies) who were overcome by hydrogen sulfide while conducting an inspection in a narrow tunnel.
Tom Henke, a city firefighter and paramedic, said the drill quickly grew in complexity when firefighters arrived. The confined space was filled with pipes, ruling out the use of a conventional ladder to access the area. Instead, firefighters wearing self-contained breathing apparatus had to be lowered into the tunnel using a tripod and winch.
Life-size rescue dummies, placed in the dark, damp tunnel to replicate the unconscious workers, were then extricated through the maze of pipes and hoisted to the surface through a manhole.
The ERO staff and firefighters collaborated to address each challenge. “I think the exercise went really well,” Henke said.
The event marked the first full-scale emergency drill at NETL-Albany since the pandemic. In the period between the previous drill and this summer’s exercise, several new city firefighters and dispatchers have joined the department.
Collaborating with NETL is important to prepare those newer hires for the unexpected. “There is no teacher like experience,” Henke said. “It’s important to become accustomed to what can occur and placing that experience in your mental Rolodex, so you are better prepared in the event of an actual emergency.”
Plus, training drills allow those involved to understand their roles in a learning environment, making them more confident to respond under pressure.
NETL was well-prepared for the drill. Henke said one of the main streets on campus was under construction, but NETL efficiently re-routed responding units to the scene of the simulated emergency without significantly impacting response time.
“We are committed to working closely with firefighters and other first responders in the Albany area to ensure a heightened level of emergency preparedness,” said Gerald “Jerry” Simkonis, NETL’s Emergency Response Program manager.
“The exercise also enabled NETL incident commanders and all members of the ERO team to sharpen their skills and communicate needed site information to firefighters in an efficient manner and better understand the needs of the firefighters,” Simkonis said.
Most confined spaces are not designed for workers to enter and work in them on a routine basis. They are designed to store a product, enclose materials and processes or transport products or substances. Therefore, occasional worker entry for inspection, maintenance, repair, cleanup or similar tasks is often difficult and dangerous due to chemical or physical hazards within the space.
“At a minimum, employers and workers should test atmospheric conditions prior to entry and continuously monitor them during the entire entry,” Simkonis said. “You cannot see or smell many toxic gases and vapors, nor can you determine if sufficient oxygen is present without proper monitoring.”
Source
As part of a full-scale emergency exercise, members of the City of Albany Fire Department responded to NETL to rescue a pair of “unconscious workers” (life size rescue dummies) who were overcome by hydrogen sulfide while conducting an inspection in a narrow tunnel.
Tom Henke, a city firefighter and paramedic, said the drill quickly grew in complexity when firefighters arrived. The confined space was filled with pipes, ruling out the use of a conventional ladder to access the area. Instead, firefighters wearing self-contained breathing apparatus had to be lowered into the tunnel using a tripod and winch.
Life-size rescue dummies, placed in the dark, damp tunnel to replicate the unconscious workers, were then extricated through the maze of pipes and hoisted to the surface through a manhole.
The ERO staff and firefighters collaborated to address each challenge. “I think the exercise went really well,” Henke said.
The event marked the first full-scale emergency drill at NETL-Albany since the pandemic. In the period between the previous drill and this summer’s exercise, several new city firefighters and dispatchers have joined the department.
Collaborating with NETL is important to prepare those newer hires for the unexpected. “There is no teacher like experience,” Henke said. “It’s important to become accustomed to what can occur and placing that experience in your mental Rolodex, so you are better prepared in the event of an actual emergency.”
Plus, training drills allow those involved to understand their roles in a learning environment, making them more confident to respond under pressure.
NETL was well-prepared for the drill. Henke said one of the main streets on campus was under construction, but NETL efficiently re-routed responding units to the scene of the simulated emergency without significantly impacting response time.
“We are committed to working closely with firefighters and other first responders in the Albany area to ensure a heightened level of emergency preparedness,” said Gerald “Jerry” Simkonis, NETL’s Emergency Response Program manager.
“The exercise also enabled NETL incident commanders and all members of the ERO team to sharpen their skills and communicate needed site information to firefighters in an efficient manner and better understand the needs of the firefighters,” Simkonis said.
Most confined spaces are not designed for workers to enter and work in them on a routine basis. They are designed to store a product, enclose materials and processes or transport products or substances. Therefore, occasional worker entry for inspection, maintenance, repair, cleanup or similar tasks is often difficult and dangerous due to chemical or physical hazards within the space.
“At a minimum, employers and workers should test atmospheric conditions prior to entry and continuously monitor them during the entire entry,” Simkonis said. “You cannot see or smell many toxic gases and vapors, nor can you determine if sufficient oxygen is present without proper monitoring.”
Source
See the Winners of NETL’s 2023 Earth Day Poster Contest!
Elementary students from schools near NETL’s laboratory sites in Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR are helping NETL spread the word about Earth Day 2023, observed on April 22, during our annual Earth Day Poster Contest. This special planet-centric day emphasizes the importance of recycling, conserving energy and improving air quality. The theme for this year’s Earth Day is “Invest in Our Planet. What will you do?”. Students were invited to design posters featuring their favorite ways to restore the Earth and its precious resources. First-, second-, third- and fourth-place winning posters are displayed below and were forwarded to the U.S. Department of Energy headquarters in Washington, D.C. for display there.
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Right now more than ever, our community needs us during this pandemic. AFGE is proud to support FISH of Albany where donations go to assist with medicine, food, and shelter. FISH helps nearly 300 families a week with their food pantry and provides snack packs for the Greater Albany Public School weekend programs.
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Promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education
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We are actively engaged with the community to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education from K-12 through graduate school.
Please contact us if you would like to have someone from NETL speak or participate at your event! |
Recent STEM Events with NETL Albany Participation
GirlCon 2021 Four scientists at NETL are inspiring girls in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) at GirlCon 2021, an international tech conference aiming to empower the next generation of female leaders. Natalie Pekney, Alexandra Hakala, Circe Verba and Madison Wenzlick are slated to present at several sessions throughout the conference to share their career stories, offer tips for working in energy and address challenges girls may face in pursuing STEM.
ExploraVision Student Summit –Open Window School (Belleview, WA) Student Leadership Innovation Summit - December 2, 2020 – This grades 5th–7th virtual STEM career event involved innovative leaders influential in enacting key policies, initiatives, or programs to bring about change within their industry or field. These leaders shared information about their fields and organizations, their careers, the top challenges facing their industries/fields and current solutions, their visions for the future of their fields, and what innovations they would like to see developed to transform their industry and the potential impact these may have. Following the summit, students participated in the ExploraVision competition where they selected an issue they are passionate about and began work in small teams to tackle these issues through the utilization of innovative technology. Through NETL’s participation students gained an awareness of NETL, the fossil energy field, and the energy challenges and solutions facing the US.
Society of Women Engineers Virtual career fair on November 4-5, 2020
Oregon State University’s (OSU) Natural Sciences, Earth & Environmental Career Fair. October 22, 2020. This virtual event provided OSU undergraduate and graduate students with opportunities to network with, seek information about, and investigate intern/full-time/volunteer employment opportunities with NETL and a variety of other private, corporate, and governmental organizations.
GirlCon 2021 Four scientists at NETL are inspiring girls in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) at GirlCon 2021, an international tech conference aiming to empower the next generation of female leaders. Natalie Pekney, Alexandra Hakala, Circe Verba and Madison Wenzlick are slated to present at several sessions throughout the conference to share their career stories, offer tips for working in energy and address challenges girls may face in pursuing STEM.
ExploraVision Student Summit –Open Window School (Belleview, WA) Student Leadership Innovation Summit - December 2, 2020 – This grades 5th–7th virtual STEM career event involved innovative leaders influential in enacting key policies, initiatives, or programs to bring about change within their industry or field. These leaders shared information about their fields and organizations, their careers, the top challenges facing their industries/fields and current solutions, their visions for the future of their fields, and what innovations they would like to see developed to transform their industry and the potential impact these may have. Following the summit, students participated in the ExploraVision competition where they selected an issue they are passionate about and began work in small teams to tackle these issues through the utilization of innovative technology. Through NETL’s participation students gained an awareness of NETL, the fossil energy field, and the energy challenges and solutions facing the US.
Society of Women Engineers Virtual career fair on November 4-5, 2020
Oregon State University’s (OSU) Natural Sciences, Earth & Environmental Career Fair. October 22, 2020. This virtual event provided OSU undergraduate and graduate students with opportunities to network with, seek information about, and investigate intern/full-time/volunteer employment opportunities with NETL and a variety of other private, corporate, and governmental organizations.
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The Albany Regional Museum featured the Albany Research Center in its Albany Special Metals exhibit and accompanying video
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