Large-scale drill served to test the Municipal Civil Protection Plan

The alarm was given at 9h15 am. On Avenida 25 de Abril, going uphill, a tanker truck (with diesel) overturned due to the wet floor. There is information on the other vehicles involved, namely a Bus from Sociedade de Transportes Coletivos do Porto (STCP) and other cars, the existence and/ or number of victims being unknown.

In view of the seriousness of the situation, the Municipal Emergency and Civil Protection Plan was promptly activated and the Municipal Commission for Civil Protection summoned, which met at the Centro de Gestão Integrada (CGI), under the presidency of the councillor for Civil Protection, Catarina Araújo.

On field, it was needed to conduct some traffic restrictions on Avenida 25 de Abril and adjacent areas, assist the victims and evacuate the population. The accident caused fuel to spill from the tank of the truck, making it necessary to establish a safety perimeter of 300 meters, as stipulated by law.

Therefore, the entire area was also evacuated. In addition to the residents, there is a Health Centre and an Elementary School (Flores) in that area. Because of the situation created, the circulation of the subway and train (Minho line) had to be suspended.

To make matters worse, and in view of the noise caused by the accident, the employees of the cafeteria at Escola do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico das Flores went to see what had happened, causing a fire in the kitchen in their absence, promptly fought by Sapadores Bombeiros.

In the final balance there was a record of one victim in critical condition, promptly taken to Hospital de S. João, three in serious condition and 13 victims with minor injuries.

Full Scale Exercise

The scenario was chosen for the full-scale exercise (Livex) “Porto Hazmat 22”, which aimed to test the Municipal Civil Protection Emergency Plan, which is currently being revised, and contribute to validating the norm (ISO 22320:2018) inherent to the Emergency Management System and also the norm (NP EN ISSO 14001) relating to the Environmental Management System, since the scenario assumed the spillage of hazardous materials.

“The response was very positive, both from the Municipal Civil Protection Commission and all the entities and means involved”, highlighted the commander of the Regimento de Sapadores Bombeiros do Porto, guaranteeing that “the means of the Municipality were sufficient to assist all the incidents caused”.

“The balance is quite positive, involving around 20 entities”, added Carlos Marques.

In addition to the Regimento de Sapadores Bombeiros, several municipal teams were involved in the drill, as well as Polícia Municipal, Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP) – Metropolitan Command, the municipal company Ambiente do Porto, Águas e Energia do Porto, Bombeiros Voluntários do Porto and Portuenses, Instituto Nacional de Emergência Médica (INEM), Administração Regional de Saúde (ARS) do Norte, Instituto da Segurança Social, Porto delegation of the Portuguese Red Cross (CVP), Junta de Freguesia de Campanhã, STCP, Escola de Ensino Básico das Flores, Infraestruturas de Portugal, Comboios de Portugal (CP), E-REDES, REN Portgás Distribuição, Metro do Porto e ANEPC\CDOS do Porto.

At the end of the morning, and after washing the pavement, circulation was re-established on Avenida 25 de Abril.