Taking the Lead in Emergency Response

John Sheptor, CEO of Imperial Sugar, speaks to more than 60 emergency responders in Convent, Louisiana.

Advocating best practices in emergency response, the Imperial Sugar Company continues to bring together Georgia-based police, fire and healthcare experts to share their expertise with first responders nationwide.

Leaders in law enforcement, fire safety and medicine believe the lessons learned from the 2008 refinery explosion and fire at Imperial Sugar’s refinery in Port Wentworth, Ga., can serve as a best practice case study for emergency responders to follow in many industries to reduce injuries and save lives.

Attendee Kenneth Bouvier, Fire Chief at the Monsanto Luling, Louisiana plant, studies a detailed handout.

Together with the St. James Mutual Aid Association, Imperial Sugar hosted a seminar for about 60 first responders and other professionals from the public and private sectors in Convent, La.

Gathered in the Mosaic Company Recreation Building near the Mississippi River, attendees included Baton Rouge and Gramercy police departments, members of the Louisiana State University trauma unit and representatives from companies such as Occidental Chemical and Monsanto.

Everyone on the panel played pivotal roles during the 2008 tragedy -immediate and long-term treatment of the injured and the overall healing process in the months that followed.

Panelists included Imperial Sugar Chief Executive John Sheptor; Port Wentworth Fire Chief Greg Long;  Memorial Health University Medical Center  Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist Crystal Logsdon; Savannah/Chatham Police Chief Michael Berkow; and Joseph M. Still Burn Centers President Fred Mullins, M.D.

John Sheptor, CEO of Imperial Sugar, was at the Port Wentworth refinery the night of the explosion.

“Imperial was incredibly fortunate to have such a high caliber of response available to our employees in need – not to mention an outpouring from the communities in which we operate,” said Sheptor.

He continues to reach out to share the lessons learned so that others can benefit, giving his executive insight into crisis management, the need for ethical behavior throughout the entire process and the importance in taking a holistic approach to people care. Sheptor believes by doing the right thing and putting people first, all other priorities will follow more successfully.

Marc Holder, division chief at Industrial Emergency Services, found the Convent event worthwhile.

“In this area (of emergency response), we already practice that,” Holder said, “but the validation of hearing it from someone else was great.”

Sheptor led off the panel, recounting his own experience at the Savannah Sugar Refinery, which he was touring as the new CEO and president the night of the explosion. Only minutes before the tragedy he took a phone call from his wife; that brief delay prevented him from being at a meeting in a part of the refinery that collapsed when the explosion occurred. He recounted the heroic actions of those on site that saved lives and minimized the damage to adjacent units.

Sheptor, a man who truly counts his blessings, is quick to point out the contributions of fellow panel members. He specifically cited the work of Fire Chief Long and his firefighters, whose actions protected the refinery’s boiler room from being destroyed by fire.

“If that had happened,” Sheptor said, “the additional rebuild cost would have caused the total claim to substantially exceed the company’s insurance coverage. That gap, in turn, would have forced the company to shut down.”

Sheptor praised the leadership of several response organizations that partnered with Imperial Sugar employees in search-and-rescue operations, including the Coast Guard, National Guard, GEMA, FAA, the office of the Fire Marshal and other agencies working with firefighters to control and extinguish fires.

The police, emergency medical services and media collaborated to manage traffic and expedite injured to reach hospital care. The Salvation Army, American Red Cross and America’s Second Harvest collaborated to feed and provide services to emergency responders. “The coordination of all responders was superb,” Sheptor said.

Chief Greg Long of the Port Wentworth, GeorgiaFire Department explains some of the difficulties his department faced on the night of Feb. 7th, 2008.

Using photos and video, Chief Long walked attendees through the scene of the explosion and fire. Twenty-two fire departments responded with 228 firefighters and 74 fire apparatus. He emphasized how the different fire departments cooperated to ensure everyone did their jobs right.

Chief Long explained how firefighters took a strategic approach to contain the eight-day blaze as search-and-rescue efforts in collapsing structures. It was a balancing act to keep flames in check and not bring down buildings on the rescuers with tons of water.

Of all the statistics Chief Long listed, there is one that stands out – the number of “emergency personnel injuries,” which was zero – “not one.”

Chief Long also talked about the benefit of having detailed mapping of the disaster site, as well as floor plans of all the buildings. Maintaining a steady water supply was vital, especially when the main supply fails, as it did at Port Wentworth when the explosion ruptured the main line.

Dozens of federal and state investigators responded to the accident and the emergency command assisted the coordination between the various interests. In all, more than 400 non-emergency responder personnel were on site within 12 hours.

The chief also emphasized the need to photograph debris for forensic purposes before it’s removed, as well as maintaining 100-percent accountability of persons who have access to the scene, with particular attention to non-emergency responders.

The talk by Crystal Logsdon, of Memorial Health, used “time is of the essence” as the theme

Crystal Logsdon of Memorial Health spoke to the theme “time is of the essence.” She said the critical care division had prepared for events such as hurricanes, but “we’d never been tested with anything like this.

“Obviously, the goal always is to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people,” she said, pointing out the hospital is a Level I trauma center, but not a burn center. Emergency room and critical care unit patients had to be quickly moved to other parts of the hospital to make room for the injured. Patients had to be assessed and stabilized until expert care could be provided.

“We couldn’t have gotten through it without the Augusta Burn Centers’ specialists,” who assisted Memorial Health physicians with treatment and triage, said Logsdon.

She noted such lessons learned as:

• The need for more information from the disaster scene
• The development of a better way to keep up with patients’ and families’ names
• A steadier flow of medical supplies to avoid depletion.

Savannah/Chatham Police Chief Michael Berkow gives his perspective.

Savannah/Chatham Police Chief Michael Berkow, who previously served as a detective on the Los Angeles Police Department, emphasized that the time to prepare for any disaster is before it happens.

Chief Berkow, who has a close working relationship with Fire Chief Long, says unity in communications and emergency command is essential. “If you train together, you lead together.”

He pointed out that having a consolidated dispatch – where fire, emergency medical services and police work side-by-side – is vital. For instance, his department handled traffic control of fire trucks, ambulances and water tanker trucks at the refinery.

Having control over the perimeter of a scene is crucial as well. In the Port Wentworth incident, an officer with SWAT experience helped establish this control, which proved valuable in ensuring smooth operations during the eight days of firefighting.

The response of the national and local media was almost immediate. Coordination of fire, police and company communications maintained order and tempered anxiety in the local community. Detectives kept families of those missing informed throughout search operations and made notifications prior to public releases to ensure families were treated with respect and dignity.

Dr. Fred Mullins, of the Burn Centers in Augusta, Georgia.

Dr. Fred Mullins of the Burn Centers in Augusta said that once he got the call, an eight-member team was dispatched to the site, which is about 100 miles away.

His team arrived at Memorial Hospital at 9:30 p.m. (approximately 2-1/2 hours after the explosions) and went from room to room to assess and treat the burn victims. From there, patients were flown to the Burn Centers – with the first arriving at 11 p.m. and the last shortly after 10:30 a.m. the next morning. “This all happened very quickly,” he said.

Dr. Mullins said the treatment of burn victims is something that lasts for months. All during that time, he said, “we tried to talk to family members anytime we did treatment.”

He noted how Sheptor would come to the Burn Centers and stay there, caring about the employees. Imperial Sugar Company was a model company in how they collaborated with hospital staff and local volunteer organizations to ensure patients and their families received holistic care.

Eighteen months after the tragedy, Sheptor knows full well the profound impact it has had on employees, their families and communities – as well as the company, its customers and shareholders.

His message to first responders at the Convent event was heartfelt. “We hope what we have shared today will allow others to learn without having to experience what we have,” he said, “and will ensure that communities are prepared to respond to a disaster if they are unfortunate to have to.”

After the event, Kenneth Bouvier, Monsanto fire chief and paramedic, said it was time well spent. What stays with him is something that Savannah/Chatham Police Chief Berkow said, which is: “When the time to perform arrives, the time to prepare is past.”

Good advice for any first responder to heed.

For more news coverage,
check WTOC’s story on the conference
covered by anchorman Sonny Dixon.