NINE MILE POINT
fighting equipment (i.e., annual hose tests). Approximately 50 percent of the fire fighters are qualified New York State EMTs, ready to provide assistance to sick or injured plant personnel.
The need to have an on-site, dedicated fire department becomes obvious when one looks at the facts. First, the special hazards associated with nuclear power requires specialized training and requalifying in radiation protection procedures. These procedures are incorporated in fire department tactics such as ventilation of contaminated smoke and containment of contaminated runoff water. Second, the work load is too demanding to be a parttime, secondary function. During an actual emergency, operators must perform the operations function and are not available to fight a fire. Finally, this in-depth fire protection can only be viewed as the best fire insurance policy available.
Weighing the tremendous cost of the generating station facilities and expensive downtime, the dedicated fire department is a small investment to protect such a high dollar risk. By maintaining proper documentation, NRC fire brigade requirements are unquestionably met.
The finale to this story is the extensive training program in which the Nine Mile Point Fire Department is engaged. Niagara Mohawk has contracted with General Physics Corp. in Columbia, to develop a 24-module training program. The program is implemented five times per month (once to each shift) for approximately three days per module. The program has been modeled after the National Fire Protection Association’s Standard 1001. Both written and practical examinations have been incorporated into the program. Actual hands-on fire fighting evolutions are performed at Niagara Mohawk’s fire training school, located just a few miles west of the power plant. Topics in the training program range from specific nuclear fire problems to fire fighting tactics.
John Scofield, fire protection training specialist for Niagara Mohawk, assists General Physics with the classroom instruction portion of the program.
