The Edmonds Fire Department (EFD) was dispatched to 121 calls in and around Edmonds the week of April 29 to May 5, which brings this year’s call volume to 1,678. Aid crews responded to 89 calls; fire crews responded to 32 incidents.
Man-Down Alarm at Edmonds Treatment Plant
The Edmonds Wastewater Treatment Plant is an industrial operation with a maze of buildings, tunnels, piping, moving machinery, chemical vats, and sewage process tanks. Tight, confined spaces exist overhead, underground, and within and between buildings.
But one critical piece of equipment unrelated to sewer pretreatment is the Worker Inactivity Alarm. On occasion, reduced staffing dictates use of the accountability system or “man-down alarm.” If someone should become trapped or disabled, it is urgent that emergency crews respond immediately with rescue and medical equipment.
On-site workers must reset a computer-based timer every hour. If they don’t, the man-down alarm is programmed to activate and notify SnoCom 911 of the emergency.
To prevent false alarms—in case an employee is distracted or forgets to check-in hourly—a five-minute siren sounds at the Treatment Plant before the alarm signals SnoCom.
EFD rescue technicians drill at the Plant to be prepared for a rescue there, but also to maintain technical rescue skills for any industrial, confined-space, or haz-mat incident.
Recently, the Worker Inactivity Alarm alerted SnoCom that a rescue-tech response was imminent. Treatment Command was established and, as designated by ordinance, an engine, the ladder truck, a medic unit, and a Battalion Chief were dispatched to reach the potentially trapped victim. The rescue crew arrived to find a full staff who believed the alarm must have malfunctioned.
The Battalion Chief contacted SnoCom to determine why the alarm rang there. SnoCom indicated they received the alarm as designed, with no problems on their end. Further investigation revealed that the Treatment Plant had recently conducted computer-battery work, which was assumed to be the cause of the false alarm.
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