During the summer of 2006 Goodrich Engine Control & Power Systems site in West Hartford, Connecticut partnered with the city’s fire department for a summer-long series of training exercises intended to familiarize the city’s firefighters with the site’s fire protection systems and to evaluate their performance. The program consisted of both classroom training and practical skills application including system augmentation from pumper apparatus and flow and pressure determinations. Working side by side with the site’s internal Emergency Response Team, the city’s 84 full-time firefighters were able to acquire an intimate knowledge of the site’s fire control systems and develop standard operating guidelines for private water systems for use city-wide.

Goodrich’s site maintains the largest manufacturing campus in the city of West Hartford and due to the very nature of its business, uses a variety of flammable aviation fuels for the development of new products, testing of original equipment and overhauled fuel pumps and controls. Fire safety is inherent to the culture of every employee. The opportunity to share the site’s resources and to educate the city’s fire fighters on processes and capabilities provided a new level of safety for  employees, emergency responders and the business.

Goodrich is committed to continuing its partnership with the city of West Hartford’s fire department. 2007 plans include: site tours; hazardous materials spill response simulations; portable extinguisher training; and medical emergency response.

Mark Mierzejewski
Coordinator, Environmental, Health and Safety
Goodrich Engine Control & Power Systems
West Hartford, Connecticut, USA