Dr. Carlos Gundran giving an overview of disaster preparedness using the ICS

March 31, 2023 — The Human Resource Development Office, in collaboration with the UP Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM), conducted a three-hour safety and emergency response training for two batches of UP Manila employees on February 9, 2023.

With a total of 45 participants, the in-person training held at the DRRM Health Center was in response to a training needs assessment survey conducted by the HRDO where almost half of the UP Manila employee-respondents rated “safety training” and “emergency response” as greatly needed training programs.

In turn, the HRDO designed a safety and emergency response training intended for all UP Manila employees that will ensure preparedness in emergency situations and will provide protective security and life safety protocol in necessary situations.

Dr. Carlos Primero D. Gundran, DRRM Health Center head and UPM DRRM Subcommittee chair, opened the training by discussing the DRRM manual currently used at UP Manila. The highlight of his 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 was emphasized in order to facilitate better coordination among emergency response team personnel.

After the lecture, a two-hour simulation session followed where the participants simulated 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 staff (operations section, planning section, logistics section, and finance/ administrative section), fire fighting team, evacuation team, search and rescue (SAR) team, medical/first aid team, and communications team. 

Participants being equipped with fire emergency preparedness skills through the simulation sessions

The DRRM facilitators managed the simulation sessions by giving different scenarios to enable the participants to develop and refine their abilities during fire-related emergencies. The simulation experience also aimed to help the teams and individual participants to become more familiar with the challenges and complexities of different scenarios during a fire emergency and better understand how to work with a team to address them.

For the last part of the training, Dr. Gundran led a debriefing session where the participants shared their reflections during the simulation. Representatives from all the IMTs disclosed 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.

Jeah May O. Badeo and Ma. Janelle D.A. Gabion