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David Levesley (left), HART Team Leader, and HART Paramedic Ed Middleton tending to whg colleague Mark Beard during the asbestos exercise.
An empty flat in Walsall Wood was the scene of a training exercise to simulate the emergency treatment and rescue of a trapped casualty exposed to asbestos.
Walsall Housing Group (whg) invited West Midlands Ambulance Service’s Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) to take part in the event in Beechtree Road last Wednesday (17th February).
The scenario saw whg’s Asbestos Team set up an airtight containment zone in the flat, in line with normal practice during the removal of the hazardous building material. One of the team, Mark Beard, then pretended to slip and fall, suffering a suspected broken leg.
A real-life incident like this would prompt the emergency services to dispatch the HART, specially selected paramedics trained and equipped to work at the centre of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents.
The crew which covers central England, and is one of eight in the country, was on hand during the exercise to provide medical attention.
Using specialist equipment and training procedures they entered the flat and assessed Mark’s injuries before treating him and removing him from the scene in a manner designed to avoid contaminating the exit route.
Dave Jones, whg Health and Safety Manager, said: “Working with asbestos is very involved – it has to be. If it’s not handled properly it can be a dangerous material.
“I’m extremely happy with the outcome of the training exercise. From my point of view it is peace of mind knowing that if any of our trades’ colleagues do need medical help while working in this type of environment there is an emergency team out there with the ability to come to us and administer treatment at the scene.”
Incident Commander Paul Reeves said: “We would like to thank whg for the opportunity to train with their Asbestos Team. Incidents of this nature are more common than people realise and while asbestos is not immediately life-threatening the long term problems are well documented so a joined-up approach to incidents of this nature is vital.”
Each week an average of four plumbers, 20 trades people, six electricians and eight joiners die as a result of asbestos exposure (source Health and Safety Executive).
