Morning call out How the Shell plant fire brigade in Cologne works
Cologne · On Wednesday morning, there was a fire brigade operation at Godorf harbour. The Shell refinery fire brigade was also called out. The hazards for which the team must be prepared.
At around 9 o'clock on Wednesday morning, the fire brigade of the Cologne professional fire brigade and the Shell Rheinland refinery fire brigade went into action with loud sirens blaring. Sebastian Köpp, spokesman for Shell in the Rhineland, later announced that an incident had occurred at Godorf harbour. During the loading of a ship belonging to an external shipping company, small quantities of a product had leaked out. Köpp was not much more specific. However, this product was "smellable and perceptible depending on the wind direction", said Köpp. "Therefore, we informed the neighbourhood as a preventive measure." Due to the large distance to residential buildings, however, he does not assume that any of the surrounding residents actually noticed anything of the smell. There had been no indications of a possible hazard.
Safety has top priority at Shell in Cologne
Again and again, large industrial plants such as the Shell refineries in Cologne-Godorf and Wesseling are the scene of similar operations for the responsible plant fire brigade. A total of eight modern fire engines as well as six other emergency vehicles and various small vehicles are available to the team for this purpose. Warning and measuring systems in the plant ensure that work in the refinery proceeds in an orderly manner. If a measured value is too high, the responsible authorities are informed, as with any other abnormality, Köpp reports. "Safety is our top priority.“
As a rule, the plant fire brigade has to coordinate with other emergency services. This was also the case this morning. The responsibility for the port in Godorf lies with the professional fire brigade in Cologne, explains Köpp. According to the spokesperson, the fire brigade decides on the number of emergency forces to be deployed, depending on the alarm signal and the corresponding alarm and deployment regulations. On Wednesday morning, too, the port operator HKC (Hafen Güterverkehr Köln) informed the fire brigade that it would proceed according to the prescribed schedule.
Defence forces are prepared for all scenarios
The district government and other authorities also receive immediate information in the event of such a report, Köpp explains. "The operational manager then decides whether an emergency management team is activated." For all possible emergency scenarios, there are alarm and hazard prevention plans that serve as a guideline for the emergency management team in critical situations. According to the company spokesperson, emergency situations in which the plant fire brigade and the company fire brigade intervene together, as was the case on Wednesday, are usually handled jointly until they are safely concluded. (Original text: Jonas Dirker / Translation: Mareike Graepel)
