When Rebecca Doksa joined Veolia's hazardous waste team in Henderson, Colorado as Environmental, Health and Safety Manager a little over a year and a half ago, she made it a priority to build strong relationships with local fire departments and first responders.
"I wanted to build a relationship where they value what we do. We needed to better understand how to work together in the event of an emergency," Rebecca said.
Her efforts paid off with the successful execution of a full-scale emergency drill at Veolia's Henderson site, conducted in close partnership with the South Adams County Fire Department and regional EMTs and paramedics.
The drill was the first of its kind at the Henderson site, and went a long way in strengthening the Veolia team's relationship with area first responders while also identifying areas for improvement in the event of a real emergency. Rebecca served as Incident Commander during the exercise.
"I'm very proud of the way everyone stepped up on the Henderson team, as well as our first responder partners," Rebecca said.
The three-hour drill centered around a challenging scenario involving a spill of fuming nitric acid and hydrofluoric acid, in which two people required emergency evacuation. All 85 Veolia Henderson employees participated alongside more than 30 first responders, putting teamwork and coordination to the test.
The results were impressive. Responding fire and EMS crews successfully located and evacuated both victims in just 23 minutes.
"Considering the hazards involved, and the time it takes to get to the site, this was a good first effort," Rebecca said.
The exercise also generated valuable insights for continued improvement, including opportunities to enhance communications between agencies and teams.
"That's the idea behind the whole drill, to see where we can improve," Rebecca said. "It ended up being a great experience for everyone involved, and it will only serve to make our operation and community safer."
Eric Chebator, Senior Director of Health and Safety for the Hazardous Waste business, attended the drill and praised the team's performance.
"The drill was able to reveal successful evacuation and rescue operations completed in 23 minutes, while identifying critical improvement areas including communication protocols, zone management, and chemical hazard information sharing," Eric said. "We will be taking the lessons learned and action items to share with other facilities as we plan another drill at Henderson and create templates for all of Veolia. I'm extremely proud of the team and their partnership. Thank you to everyone who participated, especially Rebecca Doksa, Joe Costa, and the entire management and operational team at Henderson. Well done!"
The Henderson drill serves as a model for Veolia facilities across the organization, demonstrating the value of proactive community partnerships and a shared commitment to safety and preparedness.