Adina Donovan Home for the Elderly undergoes fire prevention exercise

A facility catering to the elderly in the Virgin Islands is taking precautionary measures in the event of a fire.

On Monday 18th April 2016, the Adina Donovan Home for the Elderly underwent a two-hour fire safety training exercise with the Fire and Rescue Services Department at their Road Town location.

Assistant Manager for the Adina Donovan Elderly Home, Crystal Vanterpool-Williams, told VI Life and Style Magazine, that the training is necessary and will now be done on a biannual basis. “It is very important because this is a 24-hour nursing home,” she stressed, “and at any given time something can happen. So we do it yearly, and we are going to start doing it twice a year.”

She explained that the staff is required to have at least two hours of in-service training with fire and safety measures. “It is very, very important because we house different age population and people with different illnesses of which some are bed bound, so you will need to be trained to be evacuated in a timely manner.”

A total of 12 of the 36 staff members who are employed at the facility took part in the training.

Meanwhile, Station Officer at VI Fire and Rescue Services Department, Mervin Jeffers said the training entailed using a fire extinguisher, how to be safe in the home, how to store things properly among others. He said they were also taught to call for help from the Fire professionals before they attempt to out the fire.

“We also teach them what they do first before they start to out a fire. For instance, some people tend to try to out a fire and when it get out control they will call us, that’s the wrong thing to do. You must call us first and then if you can out the fire, yes.”

He informed that the exercise can be done anywhere upon request.