Safety and Emergency Response Training

As a result of the Training Needs Assessment that the Human Resource Development Office (HRDO) conducted last year, almost half of the UP Manila employees who participated in the survey rated Safety Training and Emergency Response as a greatly needed training program. With this, the HRDO designed a safety and emergency response training intended for all UP Manila employees to ensure emergency preparedness on what to do and when to act in emergency situations, and for protective security and life safety protocol. Additionally, trained employees can act quickly and effectively in an emergency to mitigate the situation and save lives. 

The HRDO, in collaboration with the UP Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (UPM-DRRM), conducted a 3-hour safety and emergency response training in two batches last February 9, 2023. The training was held face-to-face at the UPM-DRRM Health Center, where 24 and 21 employees participated in the first and second batches, respectively. This training is part of HRDO’s constant effort to localize the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals: SDG3, SDG4 and SDG8.

The training started with a 1-hour lecture from the resource speaker, Dr. Carlos Primero D. Gundran, MScDM, FPCEM and the current Chair of the UPM DRRM Subcommittee. Dr. Gundran discussed the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) manual currently in place at UP Manila. The highlight of the lecture was the Incident Command System of UP Manila and the different principles governing safety responses and codes for various critical situations and hazards. Additionally, the UP Manila Emergency Code Nomenclature and Incident Management Team (IMT) Color Coding were emphasized in order to facilitate better coordination among ERT personnel. 

The 1-hour lecture of Dr. Gundran was followed by a 2-hour simulation session where the participants experienced implementing measures to prevent and mitigate fire incident emergencies. The participants were grouped according to the following IMT Members: Incident Commander, Command Staff (Public Information Officer, Liaison Officer, and Safety Officer), Operations Section (Operations Section, Planning Section, Logistics Section, and Finance/Administrative Section), Fire Fighting Team, Evacuation Team, Search and Rescue (SAR) Team, Medical/First Aid Team, Communications Team. The DRRM facilitators facilitated the simulation session by giving different scenarios to the participants so they could develop and refine their abilities during fire-related emergencies. The simulation experience also aimed to help individual participants and teams become more familiar with the challenges and complexities of different scenarios during a fire emergency and better understand how to work together to address them.

The last part of the training was a debriefing session headed by Dr. Gundran and the DRRM facilitators. The debriefing session allowed the participants to reflect on what went accordingly and the challenges they experienced during the simulation. Representatives from all the specified IMT members shared their learning and insights after the simulation, which included the importance of effective communication among all the team members, proper delegation of tasks, and working together to ensure everyone’s safety if an actual fire occurs.