September Is Preparedness Month Make Sure You Have a Plan in Place
For the safety of our team members and customers, Peoples Gas works year-round to be ready to respond when our customers need us most. Implementing training is an important part of an extensive emergency preparedness plan so that team members stand ready to respond in the case of a real-life emergency.
Each preparedness drill and exercise has a different focus and can simulate anything from a natural disaster to a terrorist attack. The goal is to simulate scenarios that will allow our team members to improve at a steady rate, working their way to a more complex scenario. These exercises take place throughout Florida and allow team members to practice their response to an emergency.
A planning team made up of a variety of team members develops each exercise using a set of guidelines by FEMA Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP). Clear, well-defined objectives are created based upon these principles, as well as lessons learned from past events, to guide the exercise participants’ responses and help identify areas of improvement.
Each exercise is documented thoroughly by exercise evaluators and through participant feedback forms following the conclusion. Participating team members are expected to respond as they normally would during a real-life event but are encouraged to problem-solve outside the box by thinking of alternate solutions.
“September is National Preparedness Month, and we need to ensure we are ready when our customers need us most,” said Kelly Knigge, manager of emergency management for Peoples Gas. “This means we must have our individual and family plans in place so we know our families will be safe and we can focus on our company’s preparedness and response.”
Along with the drills and exercises, Peoples Gas makes investments in state-of-the-art technology such as our Gas Control Center, to monitor the safety and status of the natural gas system 24 hours a day, and the mobile command center that can travel to impacted areas to be a temporary workspace during restoration activities.
Communities throughout Florida rely on our readiness in the event of a storm and depend on us to respond successfully to every emergency. Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30 and, though severe weather cannot be planned, you can prepare now in the event of an emergency. For preparedness tips visit PeoplesGas.com/StormSafety.
