Emergency Response & Planning

Fire is the biggest safety risk for NOCMA. We handle and store flammable substances day in and day out. One of the significant strategies to maintaining a safe workplace and preventing fire is fire safety training.

NOCMA believes that well trained workers complete the chain of emergency response in all our sites. They are the first responders and have the capacity to avert emergencies from exacerbating.

Fire safety training teaches workers how to recognize fire hazards, conduct a fire safety risk assessment, prevent a workplace fire, and respond positively if a fire occurs. As such all employees at NOCMA depots and head office are trained in fire safety every year. This year’s training had 43 graduates with 14 from Mzuzu depot, 2 from Chilumba,6 from head office, 13 from Blantyre and 8 from Lilongwe depot.

To cement this knowledge, every month there are emergency drills being conducted in all depots with the aim of assessing the firefighting team’s ability to respond to a fire emergency. Once a year, a joint fire drill is done with emergency response brigades. Lessons from all these drills is put into corrective action for continuous improvement in fire safety.