Emergency drill at Baywest Mall to test evacuation procedures

An emergency drill is underway at Baywest Mall this morning, which began at 9.15am,  to test the effectiveness of the emergency and evacuation procedures at the mall.

According to Baywest Mall operations officer Andre van Niekerk, this morning’s drill takes the form of a mock explosion inside anchor tenant Checkers Hyper, with the situation seeing some people injured, with mock smoke and flames meaning other shoppers are struggling to breathe and are traumatised.

The sole purpose of the exercise is to test the effectiveness of the emergency and evacuation procedures for Baywest Mall. In addition, the exercise will create a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the emergency services and the internal role players.

Further, it will increase participant knowledge and confidence in the execution of the emergency and evacuation plan and to improve and build on existing communication channels and coordination between the various role-players. Role-players involved include the fire brigade, SAPS, EMS, Disaster Management Services, Traffic Department and K9 the unit.