Saving their own lives and the lives of their colleagues, protecting equipment, and minimising the consequences of enemy attacks are challenges that employees of Metinvest's enterprises in Ukraine face today, alongside carrying out their production tasks. In order to ensure coordinated actions during the elimination of the consequences of hostilities amid a complete blackout, a training exercise was once again conducted at the territory of the Industrial Water Supply and Slurry Facilities Shop at Metinvest Central Iron Ore.
According to the drill scenario, participants had to eliminate the consequences of a missile attack that cut power to equipment and caused a fire. As a result of the attack, an employee was also injured. A special condition of the training session was that participants had to practise their actions in blackout conditions. In addition, Ihor Toniev, General Director and Chief of Staff, added another condition ‒ the absence of water in the water supply system and a depleted water reserve in the fire truck.
Participants practised their coordination and worked through the action algorithm for detecting explosive objects. In addition, members of the first aid and fire-fighting teams had to demonstrate their ability to correctly assess the situation and act quickly in accordance with established algorithms.
Apart from 17 employees of the Industrial Water Supply and Slurry Facilities Shop, the exercise also involved workers from the Networks and Substations Shop, firefighters from the Fire and Rescue Station, the plant dispatcher, and employees from the State Emergency Service (mining rescuers) and the Medical Service – 27 people in total.
According to the training scenario, during a shift the shop received a notification about the threat of a missile attack. All employees moved to a protective shelter along designated routes. A compressor station operator did not manage to reach the shelter in time because she was performing technical switching of the surge valve and throttle valve in the machine room. During the operation of the air defence system, the blast wave shattered the windows, and the woman was injured.
Right after the all-clear signal, employees started to practise the action algorithm for eliminating the consequences of an emergency situation related to hostilities. The first aid team found the injured employee and provided assistance before the ambulance arrived. The first aid team was headed by Stanislav Chepil, Head of Section.
"According to the scenario, we had only one casualty. We headed towards her right after the all-clear signal. Under the scenario, the woman sustained a left leg injury with arterial bleeding and a head injury, also with bleeding, caused by glass fragments. The affected employee managed to apply a tourniquet to her leg herself; we checked it and then treated the head wound and applied a bandage. At the same time, we called an ambulance through the dispatcher. We also helped the medical staff transfer the injured employee to the ambulance vehicle. Ultimately, we handled the situation properly: clearly, quickly and in a coordinated manner, so there were no remarks from the observers," says Stanislav CHEPIL, Head of Section at the Industrial Water Supply and Slurry Facilities Shop at Metinvest Central Iron Ore.
According to the training scenario, during the inspection of the shop territory, missile fragments were discovered, which also caused a power outage at the substation. After informing the plant dispatcher, employees were evacuated from the hazardous area before the arrival of the State Emergency Service. Meanwhile, responsible personnel worked through the procedure in the event of an energy supply outage.
As a result, representatives of the Emergency Response Headquarters highlighted the adequate visualisation of the training site using simulation equipment, the prompt arrival of the fire-fighting team, medical service, security service, the organisation of the meeting and escort of emergency services, measures taken to prevent personnel from entering the hazardous area, the correct classification of the incident, rapid development and adoption of management decisions, and control over their implementation.
"While Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine is ongoing, the security situation in Kryvyi Rih remains tense. The city infrastructure suffers significant damage and destruction as a result of missile strikes and UAV attacks. In this regard, comprehensive training exercises are conducted at Metinvest Iron Ore Plants according to schedule, where employees practise the skills required to eliminate the consequences of hostilities," says Dmytro CHYRVA, Acting Director for HSE at Metinvest Iron Ore Plants. "Attacks on the city do not stop, therefore we must always remain ready to protect our people and minimise risks to shop equipment. Such exercises allow us to identify areas of safety that require additional attention, refine our response algorithms, and develop additional measures that will improve employees’ readiness to respond in an emergency situation."
