The Fire Combat Sector (SCI) and the Security Advisory of the Paraná Penitentiary Department (Depen) have created the Emergency Protocol for Activating the Penitentiary Brigade. Scheduled to be implemented in all prison units by the end of this year, the document outlines what the actions of each sector should be in emergency cases.
The State Penitentiary in Francisco Beltrão, in the Southwest region, was the first to implement the project. “This procedure was developed to ensure fire prevention and combat in the state's correctional facilities, following a protocol of technical actions aimed at this end. The established standard must be followed in all correctional facilities in Paraná," highlighted the Depen Security Advisor, Josielson Fabrício.
The activation of the fire brigade follows a general protocol that includes, among other procedures, sound alerts, schedule planning and division of duties, safety management, and the activation of existing fire-fighting systems, such as pumps, hydrant networks, and extinguishers.
“The purpose of the procedure is to standardize the response to such situations and, thus, provide greater safety to staff and inmates, since the procedures involve firefighting as well as the evacuation of the premises and treatment of the wounded,” explained the head of the Firefighting Sector (SCI), Alessandro Cidade.
He clarified that the training is necessary to prevent irreparable harm to the lives involved and, secondly, to the structures of the buildings. “From the moment we learn about the fire, he will know that he needs to call the Fire Department, notify the unit's management, and inform the inspectorate, which will carry out its role in the protocol, as well as the prison firefighters,” he highlighted.
The protocol establishes four basic steps for the emergency to be handled correctly. “The plan serves as a guide so that there is no type of interference or even widespread confusion, since there is a hierarchy of functions and actions,” Alessandro explained. “Because of this, regardless of where the public servant is working, they will know exactly what procedure is being adopted, since the program to be carried out will be uniform,” he added.
Implementation
According to him, the implementation program prioritizes penitentiaries and custody houses. “After that, the protocol will also be rolled out to public jails under the full management of Depen,” said Alessandro Cidade.
The head of the SCI also added that the process of having a trained and structured team, with firefighting materials and resources, involved several stages, from raising awareness of the need, through various meetings with all those involved and visits to each of the units for inspections, to the implementation of the system to comply with all measures.
Fire brigade agents
Throughout the state, the penitentiary brigade member course, promoted by the Fire Fighting Sector and the Penitentiary Training and Improvement School (Espen), has already trained 994 agents. During the course, they learned to operate equipment, identify hazardous products, and recognize their risks, in addition to providing first aid.
Inspections
Last year, Depen's penitentiaries and public jails underwent inspections of their fire prevention and fighting systems, executing, for example, the activation of centrifugal pumps and gravity feed in elevated cistern systems at the hydrants.
SOURCE:
FIRE MAGAZINE
