Tragedy Leads to Greater Public Safety

Fire Chief Greg Long

The tragic explosion that hit the Port Wentworth refinery of Imperial Sugar in February 2008 left lasting impressions on one person who was among the first on the scene – Port Wentworth Fire Chief Greg Long.

Chief Long spoke of his experience and lessons learned during a recent interview.

Q: What are your impressions and memories of working with the Imperial Sugar employees and leaders during the emergency and in the search and rescue?

A: “Everyone at the plant worked extremely well with us on all aspects of the incident. Retired personnel volunteered to share their expertise with us on the floor plans, which due to the damage, made navigation extremely difficult. From the start of the incident, all we needed to do was to ask for something and it was provided to us immediately. All of our requests were met, and our instructions followed.”

Q: How important is it to have cooperation at all levels from a company during such situations?

A: “One of the hardest things to work on during an incident of this size is full cooperation from management of the facility. This was not the case here (at the Imperial Sugar refinery at Port Wentworth). We outlined our operation and search plans, explained what resources were needed, and what level of security we wanted, and it was performed to our levels. While I fully understand how badly everyone wanted to “get into the trenches” and work alongside us, we all know that is not possible. The employees realized that the best way to assist us in our mission was to provide us with their knowledge of the plant, and assist us in specific tasks as wee requested.”

Port Wentworth Fire Department

Chief Long has a small department – four firefighters, eight volunteers and an assistant. During the incident at the refinery with fires that burned for more than a week, he says 22 fire departments responded, including 228 firemen and 74 pieces of equipment on the scene over a two-week period. There were many firefighters he had never before met, but they worked together seamlessly.

Q: How did all of those fire departments work together?

A: “Some fire departments came from more than one hundred miles. These people came in and were able to follow difficult instructions in a place they had never been and had the fortitude to accomplish the mission and the intelligence to realize how dangerous the situation was. The fire chiefs were able to understand what had to be done and worked together as a team.”

“When we came together,” Chief Long says, “everybody performed just as they were supposed to do. And, a lot of that came from preparation from National Incident Management Training.

Q: How specifically has this event at Imperial Sugar formed your opinions about the work you do?

A: “I was a relative new Fire Chief when this incident occurred. Without question, not only the employees of the mill, but all fireman and chiefs, some with over 30 years experience, worked directly alongside me to provide the best possible plan of action possible. That kind of dedication to duty displayed by all the emergency workers and the support services implanted a feeling of “belonging” that will remain with me for the rest of my life. I hope to be able to pass that along to other firefighters. There is no better career than being in the fire service.”

Coming out of the explosion and fire at the refinery are positive lessons learned. Chief Long today sees greater communication, cooperation and training as priorities. Programs are currently under way between the fire department he commands and his colleagues at fire departments in the surrounding region, including in South Carolina.

Chief Long said: “What we learned was the importance of how interdepartmental units need to work together on communication and training so that when an emergency of this magnitude occurs, we will be able to function together as one department.”

Ongoing talks are being held among fire and emergency departments on improved communications systems. “We are visiting their stations, and they are visiting ours,” the fire chief says. Enhanced fire fighting and rescue programs coming out of the event in early 2008 are being developed for greater public safety throughout the region.

Learn more – Visit Port Wentworth Fire and Rescue Online.