To NIPSCO, safety is job number one. The Crown Point Fire Rescue Team received a hands-on look at NIPSCO’s commitment to community safety Monday evening as they attended NIPSCO’s First Responder Safety Training.
Under the instruction of Herbie Cruz, Public Safety Trainer at NIPSCO, and John Todd, Head of Gas Operations, the session aimed to train emergency responders in natural gas safety. The training highlighted how NISPCO’s commitment to safety extends far beyond the walls of their offices and the safety of their employees. Rather, NIPSCO places a strong focus on the safety of the entire community.
“Firefighters all across the country respond to natural gas incidents,” commented Cruz, “and we want to make sure they are better prepared if they go into a call involving natural gas. We want to make sure they understand the properties and characteristics, the importance of ignition sources, and how to use their combustible gas indicators. It is very important that they are well trained in natural gas safety.”
NIPSCO representatives demonstrated a strong understanding of the importance of the training provided, stressing how a properly trained fire department can make a world of difference in the event of a natural gas incident.
“The information you learn here can save your life,” Cruz told the Crown Point Fire Rescue Team.
NIPSCO, who provides both gas and electric to the top third of the state of Indiana, hoped the training would help keep our community safe.
“This is important to the community because it makes it safer,” said Cruz. “We need to prepare firefighters for every emergency.”
The Crown Point Fire Department expressed appreciation for the NIPSCO training.
“Natural gas emergencies are routine calls that we respond to on an annual basis,” said Joe Ferrantella, Division Chief of Training and Operations of the Crown Point Fire Department. “So it is always good to have refresher training to stay well prepared to keep the public safe and ourselves safe.”
The training, which included an extensive discussion on the best practices in natural gas safety, as well as a hands-on demonstration on the apparatus floor using an explosion chamber, reminded the fire rescue team just how dangerous natural gas incidents can be.
“We are very proactive in reaching out to the fire departments to provide this training,” said Cruz. “It is a much needed and important training that all firefighters should receive.”
The Crown Point Fire Department recognized the value in NIPSCO’s training session.
“Because we respond to natural gas emergencies so frequently and so often, we want to make sure we don’t become complacent to those emergencies,” said Ferrantella.
The session ended with feedback given to NIPSCO regarding the value of the training.
“We’ve received amazing feedback,” said Cruz. “The majority of our evaluations are all excellent. We are very proud, and we are happy to have such a great reception from the fire department.”
NIPSCO hopes that training sessions like these will keep our community’s first responders well equipped to handle any natural gas emergency. For more information on NIPSCO’s first responder training, visit https://www.nipsco.com/stay-safe/first-responders.