A mock drill on Fire Safety was conducted at the Manifold area near the Furnace of the New Plate Mill of SAIL, Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) on 14th August, 2025, with the objective of reinforcing disaster preparedness and emergency response mechanism.
The exercise was carried out under the close supervision of Mr. R.K. Bisare, CGM (NPM & SPP), with the support and coordination of Mr. Mangesh Sonkusare, DGM (Fire Services), the Site Incident Controller, Mr. Sudhakar Subramanium, GM (Mechanical) & HoS, Mr. N. Mohapatra, GM (Operation) & HOS, Mr. Amit Rawat, DGM (Electrical) & HoS. The mock drill was a part of RSP’s ongoing statutory and internal safety protocols aimed at testing the efficiency and readiness of its onsite disaster management system.
The mock drill scenario revolved around a simulated leakage of mixed gas, followed by fire, activating a coordinated response from key departments including Fire Services, Occupational Health Services Centre (OHSC), Energy Management Department (EMD), Safety Engineering and CISF.
Three dedicated teams Rescue, Auxiliary and Combat comprising trained personnel from multiple departments, undertook real time actions to contain the simulated emergency. Key parameters such as response time, inter agency coordination and adherence to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were critically assessed.
Such mock drills are routinely conducted in strategic operational units of RSP to ensure high alertness and quick responsiveness in the face of industrial emergencies. The drill concluded with a debriefing and evaluation session identify learning and areas for improvement. The mock drills was coordinated by Mr. Suman Kumar, Senior Manager, DSO (NPM).
