My Working Day: Managing major emergencies is a job that Alice O 'Sullivan, emergency management officer, copes with daily
My job involves co-ordinating major emergency management in the Cork and Kerry region. It is an inter-agency post supported by the HSE South, An Garda Síochána and local authorities.
Emergency management is a phrase used to describe the management of incidents ranging from major road traffic accidents and rail crashes to explosions and severe storms.
One of my roles is to co-ordinate the design and testing of site-specific emergency plans in conjunction with other public agencies and chemical-based industries in the Cork/Kerry area.
Under the EU Seveso directive, local authorities and public agencies are responsible for chemical/industrial sites in their areas. The quantity of dangerous substances stored on an industrial site determines whether it must comply with the Seveso regulations. Of the 26 higher risk sites identified in Ireland under these regulations, 14 are in Cork.
My role is to co-ordinate the management of any incident that would have an impact outside the boundaries of these sites.
Since I have been appointed, plans for eight of these 14 sites have been completed and tested.
My working week varies from one week to the next because it is project-led. I work a lot with the companies themselves, which have their own internal processes. It is very important that our off-site plans dovetail with their internal procedures.
All of these site-specific plans tie in with the Cork joint major emergency plan.
While the chance of something of this scale occurring is very low, we can't say that it would never happen. Emergency events in the area in the past have included the Bantry terminal incident, the Buttevant train crash and the Air India crash.
I come from a civil engineering background and have been on secondment from Cork County Council since 2004.
It is very interesting working with so many people from such varied backgrounds. I work with the fire, ambulance and public health services as well as the Garda and the relevant companies.
A large part of my role is co-ordinating the sharing of knowledge and making sure that everyone, often people who come from very technical backgrounds, are speaking the same language.
Last May I ran a seminar in Kinsale on the strategic management of major emergencies. UK experts who managed responses to the London bombing spoke at the seminar.
A recent project that has just been completed is the production of an information guide, Householder's Guide to Major Emergencies, which has now been circulated to every household in Cork and Kerry.
This information guide gives practical advice and information to householders in the unlikely event of a major emergency outlining what steps to take.