Partnering with Emergency Responders Offer Unique Opportunities to Enhance Site Safety

By Ryan Monahan, Contributor

Barton Malow’s Ocean City Convention Center project team has regularly partnered with the Ocean City Fire Department to conduct a variety of drills throughout the duration of the project. Image courtesy of Barton Malow

Ocean City, Maryland is a bustling vacation destination full of out-of-town tourists, local day-trippers, and conference attendees. During the summer months, that is.

For the rest of the year, it’s a sleepy beach town with “closed for the season” signs on many storefronts. And with fewer people in town and less activity taking place, this means that there’s also fewer emergencies for first responders, giving the local fire and police departments somewhat of an “off-season.”

Barton Malow’s Ocean City Convention Center project team took advantage of this off-season throughout the addition and renovation to the oceanside events facility, which is expected to be completed in December of this year. Specifically, Superintendent Gary Ey recognized this as a key opportunity to build a relationship with the Ocean City Fire Department and host a series of on-site safety drills with Barton Malow team members and its subcontractors.

Ocean City Assistant Fire Chief Eric Peterson brought his team to the Convention Center project site in fall 2020, and then again in winter and spring of 2021 for a series of drills. These drills included a mock impalement, an overdose, and a fall from height with no access. Just as the project team needs to be ready and know what to do in the event of an emergency, so too do first responders. Because of this, the series of drills was mutually beneficial.

Would Your Team Know What to Do?

Barton Malow is renovating and adding a new exhibit hall to the Ocean City Convention Center in Ocean City, Maryland. Image courtesy of Barton Malow

“You’re walking to the truck for tools and hear a scream and see someone impaled on rebar, what do you do?”

That’s the kind of in-depth, site-specific training that the team held in conjunction with the Ocean City Fire Department. To encourage participation and engagement with not just Barton Malow’s team members, but subcontractors, names were pulled out of a hat and then an emergency was detailed that workers would then have to react to. It’s the type of training that you can’t exactly get from reviewing the Crisis Incident Management policy that it is expected that teams know and regularly review.

This training was much more hands-on and immersive. Afterwards, each drill was reviewed, and team members were able to assess how they reacted and how they could improve if such a situation were to unfold on their jobsite – whether it’s the Ocean City Convention Center or their next project.

Creating a Culture of Care

The Ocean City Fire Department leads a safety fall drill at the Ocean City Convention Center project site. Image courtesy of Barton Malow

Safety training is about a lot more than just checking a box. It’s about preparing your team for someone else’s worst day. To train effectively, it’s important to develop and nurture partnerships with local fire and EMS departments to complete a successful, safe project. When you show your fellow team members, subcontractors, partners, and clients that you care, and provide them with the training and education that’s necessary to keep them safe, it makes for a better, safer overall site.

Without a culture of care and concern for others, the safety manual is nothing more than just another dusty book on the shelf.

In addition to Toolbox Talks, daily safety huddles, and comprehensive orientation and continuous improvement training, partnering with local emergency responders can help provide a unique perspective on how to best handle certain types of situations. CS

Ryan Monahan is a Senior Project Safety Professional with Barton Malow Builders, the commercial and institutional division of the Barton Malow Family of Companies (www.bartonmalow.com).