Friday, March 10, 2000
Tight rescues taught
Career center uses pipes, tank
BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
FAIRFIELD TWP. — A worker is wedged in a manhole, panicked and nearly breathless. Noxious fumes threaten to overcome him. Co-workers stand by, wanting to help but not knowing how.
Situations like that are real concerns in many industries, where employees routinely crawl through tiny spaces to do dangerous work. And knowing what to do in an emergency is the purpose for an unusual training ground that just opened at the D. Russel Lee Career-Technology Center.
The complex consists of an 18-foot high, 7,900-gallon tank connected to three narrow, 5-foot-deep manholes by a series of 36-inch-diameter underground pipes. It's a practice area for people who work in such places as sewers, tanks, vats and even farm silos — training that safety experts say could mean the difference between life and death.
On Thursday, safety experts from Butler County, AK Steel, trade unions and the Butler County Sheriff's Office donned hard hats and harnesses before being lowered into the ground. They were part of the Safety and Health for Industrial Education and Labor Development Inc. — SHIELD — a non-profit group that promotes safety and helped develop the project. It was their third day of testing the equipment to “train the trainers.”
“I've been to several training spots and this is the most thorough, up-to-date facility,” said Joe Banks, SHIELD member and head of safety for Piping of Ohio Inc., a subcontractor at AK Steel. “This training could result in a rescue instead of a body recovery.”
The simulator is a collaboration of the Butler County Joint Vocational School District, Butler County, businesses, contractors and laborers. About $100,000 in materials and labor were used to build the facility. Training for the private sector will begin in May, said Bill Solazzo, team leader for the Workforce Development Center at the vocational school.
Mr. Solazzo said he expects it to be used extensively because most heavy industries have vats and tanks.
Workers will learn to use sensors to test for odorless but deadly gases before entering any confined area. They'll learn how to safely rescue a coworker who might be injured, as well as the proper way to enter and exit tanks, vats and similar confined spaces. Simulated smoke will be pumped into tunnels and they'll practice how to get out safely.
In confined space incidents, “two-thirds of the people killed or injured are would-be rescuers whose buddy got in trouble and they wanted to help but had no plan,” said Charlie DuVal, director of safety for Butler County. “In cases like that you have four seconds to four minutes to react or it's a body recovery.”
To donate materials or money, call instructor Shelby Louden at 868-1911, or the SHIELD office at 425-5157. Contact the school to schedule training.
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