Fire simulation exposes disaster readiness flop at Graphic (VIDEO)
A fire simulation exercise, to test the disaster readiness at the head office of the Graphic Communication Group Limited on Wednesday morning exposed some safety lapses at the leading newspaper publishing house.
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The exercise which was organised by the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) also exposed some flaws on the part of the service.
Even though fire personnel responded swiftly to the disaster, they were slow in using the turntable ladder to rescue people from the height (third floor).
When the fire alarms went off, some staff took to their heels and others took their time to pick personal belongings before evacuating the building.
Many did not know the fire assembly points and hence resorted to running to the main Graphic Road to catch a glimpse of the incident.
There was no head count to be sure whether everybody had been accounted for. Some did not even know there was fire in the building and hence continued to stay in their offices instead of evacuating.
Watch the simulation exercise here
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A Fire Service personnel who addressed the staff after the exercise said they were testing the disaster preparedness of Graphic and the service.
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He said even though the evacuation went very well, there were however some delays.
He advised staff to know their nearest assembly points and evacuate to safety when disaster strikes.
“You are not supposed to look for your wedding rings and other personal effects before running to safety”, he advised.
He said the exercise was to assure and re-assure that when fires of this nature happen and all exits and entrances are blocked, they have the capability and capacity to respond.
He said there was nothing like false alarm anywhere and advised staff to abandon whatever they were doing and evacuate the building to the nearest assembly point.
The simulation exercise attracted a large gathering of passers-by and created traffic congestion on the Graphic road.
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