Brunswick Pipeline holds mock emergency exercise in Saint John

A Brunswick Pipeline employee finds himself pinned beneath his vehicle while on patrol in a wooded area in east Saint John.

That was part of the scenario in a mock emergency staged Monday by Emera New Brunswick.

The company that owns the pipeline that delivers natural gas from the Canaport LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal to markets in Canada and the U.S. northeast holds a similar event each year.

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“We’re trying to test our relationships and how we’re working with local emergency responders,” said Emera New Brunswick spokesperson Michelle Thibodeau Coates.

“It’s a really important part of making sure that we’re prepared to an event, should it happen.”

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Coates points out safety is a top priority and the chances of something like this happening is very unlikely.

In Monday’s scenario, the worker was conscious but couldn’t get out on his own. The Saint John Fire Department’s ARGO unit was dispatched.

Responders also had to deal with a scenario involving fuel in a waterway.

Officials say they look at work undertaken each day when coming up with possible scenarios that may require an emergency response.

“From that we are able to establish, what potentially could happen and it’s all about looking at the risk and seeing what might be there and then taking those situations and trying to make sure that we have a plan in place to respond to them in the unlikely event that one of them happens,” said Coates.

The exercise is followed by a debrief where officials look at how the event was handled and if any improvements can be made.