As part of the “A Terra Treme” exercise, organised annually by the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority, a fire drill took place last November at the J.J. Louro sofa unit (Lourini) in Santarém.
As had already been tested at Lusocolchão’s facilities, also in Santarém, the drill took place against the backdrop of a fire caused by seismic activity and the collapse of structures, with casualties reported.
Fire-fighting vehicles, rescue ambulances and disaster support vehicles from the Santarém Volunteer Fire Brigade were mobilised to the scene.
When the first team arrived on the scene, the company’s Safety Officer informed them that it was an exercise. The J.J. Louro evacuation team had already taken all the employees to the “meeting points” and carried out the count, having identified three victims, two with minor burns and one due to smoke inhalation.
The purpose of the exercise was to test the response capacity of the emergency teams. The objective was successfully completed, with the participation of all J.J. Louro’s emergency teams, as well as the intervention of the fire brigade.
According to the Louro Group’s Department of the Environment and Safety at Work (DAST), carrying out drills is crucial for creating routines to assess the effectiveness of the emergency plans in the Group’s various buildings and, above all, to safeguard the safety and physical integrity of employees.
