The Damariscotta Fire Department took the next step in developing a response protocol in the event of a propane fire during an exercise at Colby & Gale Inc. Sunday, Oct. 25.
The exercise was a continuation of a tabletop discussion held in Sept. to plan increase community awareness of the department’s emergency response plan for a propane fire.
Although both the discussion and drill focused on treating a propane fire at Colby & Gale, Fire Chief John Roberts said the experience can be applied to any propane fire the department might encounter.
At 8:17 a.m. Sunday morning, Lincoln County Communications sent out the drill-only page for Damariscotta Fire Department for a report of a truck that had rolled into a propane tank at Colby & Gale.
The Damariscotta Fire Department was joined by members of Bristol Fire and Rescue, the Damariscotta Police Department, and the Great Salt Bay Sanitary District at the scene. The Newcastle Fire Department was also on standby, Roberts said.
“We’re really appreciative of all the agencies that came out to make this a success,” Roberts said.
Anthony Norman and Ken Desmond, both of Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency and state-certified firefighter instructors, were also at the drill to provide feedback and offer advice. Norman and Desmond had led the tabletop discussion and have hosted similar training exercises in the past.
“Overall I would say it was a very good drill,” Norman said. “The chances are slim an event like this would ever happen, but it’s always good to be prepared and have a plan in place, which is exactly what they’re doing.”
The Damariscotta Police Department handled traffic control while firefighters from both departments focused on setting up a water flow. Desmond said the responders were able to have water flowing within 10 minutes, which he called a good response time.
“One thing to consider is this is a drill taking place; a lot of guys are available to respond,” Desmond said. “The next thing to consider is, what would happen if an event like this occurred at 2 p.m.?”
Roberts said the next step is to revise the fire department’s response plan and alert the communications center if there is a change in protocol.
