Today at a training ground on ChattState campus, a group of students learned lifesaving skills.
Instructor Kent Cochran, Owner of Cochran Safety Associates tells us, “What we’re doing is confined space entry and basic rescue. It’s a class we’re doing through Chattanooga State. We’re putting together a lot of the information, air monitoring, different Hall systems, different retrieval systems, and stuff for retrieving people out of confined space.”
It might seem like a skillset that would be limited to first responders, but instructors tell us these skills are useful across multiple industries.
Mr. Cochran continues: “Any of your chemical companies, your utility workers, we got wastewater represented here. We’ve got chemical industry represented. We’ve got food processing. They go in vats and tanks so all of those are represented with the students today. Anytime you’re going through a man way into a vent, into a sewer, it translates just right along with the Hall systems and the harness and other safety gear that they need.”
Instructor Kent Cochran simulated for his students what happens when a low explosive level air alarm or LEL goes off. These alarms monitor for deadly gasses.
As the alarm sounded, one of the instructors told the students to haul the person suspended by rope out of the hole.
Jason Cowart is the Maintenance manager at Aditya Birla Chemicals in Dalton. He attended the classes on Thursday and Friday. After the alarm training was completed, he told us, “Well, it causes you to stay alert and always pay attention to your LEL especially when you’re in a situation that requires it so you know it requires you to pay attention and anytime that LEL goes off, it’s time to get out of the hole.”
This was the second day of a two-day course. The next round of courses will begin later in the year. Students who complete the course will be OSHA certified in confined space entry and rescue.
