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NUCLEAR POWER PLANT - About Our Firemen’s Work

Staff meeting of the Nuclear Power Plant Fire Service, the Special Fire Fighting and Rectification Branch of ATOMIX Kft., was held on 28 January with an account on 2007 activities of NPP-based Fire and Ambulance Services. (Fire Service and Nukleo-Med Kft. jointly operate the Ambulance Service, with Fire Service providing drivers, ambulance nurses and technical supervision of the emergency ambulance (motor ambulance) and Nukleo-Med employing ambulance doctors and officers.) Besides staff members, top managers of the Nuclear Power Plant, representatives of supervisory agencies and authorities and chiefs of fire brigades of Tolna County were also present at the annual evaluation meeting as invited guests. 

Fire Chief Péter Bőhm preluded his account with an outline of the legal situation of Fire Service. He said that NPP Fire Service was the first in Hungary to grow from a professional body into a full-time plant-based fire service. All this happened in 1994, and the course of development of Fire Service’ work has been continuously increasing ever since then with a permanently expanding scope of activities. Mr. Fire Chief went on with an exposition of firemen’s tasks, fire prevention, fire fighting and technical rescue activities, fire safety checks and emergency medicine. He said that a programme of six months was launched last year for new entries who have graduated from the special training course on fire service work (Budapest) to help them enter the profession of fire fighting. Firemen are required to enter several recurring training events and take related exams, and they also have to meet examination requirements for quarterly preparatory training.

Training exercises conducted together with plant personnel were of distinguished importance in a series of frequent exercises and drills. Mr. Fire Chief mentioned that 210 alarms were received in the Fire Service station last year, which corresponds in number to the average of former years. In 178 cases, Fire Service had to intervene within the Nuclear Power Plant, of which, 72 were alarms calling for both Fire and Ambulance Services. Elevator-related rescue operations also had a high number, namely 44. Plant-based Fire Service performed rapid intervention outside the plant in 32 cases; of which, they had to respond to fire alarms in 21, requests for technical rescue in 9 and calls for ambulance in 2 cases. Further on, Mr. Péter Bőhm outlined in his address operation of the communication system and central emergency service, the health empowerment programme designed to help staff members keep in shape by maintaining their physical and psychical condition, availability of personal protective equipment and technical means at the fire station, the quality management system and Fire Service contacts with external supervisory agencies and the media. Dr. Gábor Szvitán from Hungarian National Ambulance and Emergency Service gave an account of activities of the plant-based Ambulance Service. Referring to last year’s statistics, he pointed out that the local ambulance system worked efficiently, providing safety for the employees and creating general recognition for the Nuclear Power Plant.

He said that the plant-based Ambulance Service provided care for 111 patients; of them, 55 suffered accident-related injuries, 24 had diseases of internal organs and another 24 other problems (of the nervous system, ocular diseases, etc.) last year. Reanimation was carried out with success in two cases where the ambulance leaved the Plant on call. Placed third in a professional field, our team of 4 scored noteworthy results at a national competition arranged last year for ambulance services, and received the special prize offered for the best practical solutions. Following accounts, CEO of Paks Nuclear Power Plant Zrt. Mr. József Kovács, Deputy Director of Disaster Prevention Administration of Tolna County Mr. István Gergelics and Head Physician of Nukleo-Med Kft. dr. Miklós Ótos addressed the staff meeting. CEO Mr. József Kovács expressed his recognition of plant-based Fire Service’ work. He emphasized importance of the fire prevention work done by Fire Service and the cooperation between the Fire Service and Nuclear Power Plant. 

by Mrs. Anna Lovásziné
ATOMERŐMŰ