Workers at a quarry in Liberty are using their relationship with the local fire department to strengthen safety efforts on the job site.

With help from the Liberty Fire Department, Vulcan Materials Company hosted a fire extinguisher training session for its workers last Thursday. The training is just one of the many efforts the plant is taking to practice safety in dangerous situations.

“It is our goal that everyone who works here leaves safely every day,” said Plant Manager Tracy Snapp. “If you don’t think about these things on a regular basis, then when an emergency does happen, you don’t know what to do.”

Snapp says trainings such as this are quite common around the quarry.

“We do this quarterly to practice our emergency response skills,” said Snapp. “Safety is number one in our industry and we want to stay sharp.”

Liberty Firefighter John McGuire says the training is necessary for both local businesses and the fire department.

“This is extremely important for us because if these guys don’t know how to use an extinguisher, then by the time we get here the fire could have escalated to something much bigger than what it should have been,” said McGuire. “We try to encourage the local businesses to train their employees in this.”

Through the training and other events, the plant has been able to gain a valuable alliance with the fire department.

“This is a partnership,” Snapp said of the plant’s relationship with the fire department. “We rely on their expertise and we provide them with a practice area that gives them a real life atmosphere. We’ve got the facility, they’ve got the training. We learn, and they learn. It’s an ongoing relationship.”

Snapp says in the past, the plant has provided space for fire department to practice life-saving situations that cannot be simulated in a warehouse. Firefighters have used the facilities to create more lifelike scenarios of trapped victims, and for other exercises such as repelling.

“We’ve been here on some training simulating rescue type situations,” said McGuire. “We’re able to build a good relationship with the workers here.”

Snapp says he believes this will help the fire department with future emergencies that may involve the plant.

“It’s the Liberty Fire Department that would respond here (In an emergency) so we like for them to be familiar with this site,” said Snapp.

Liberty Firefighter Corey Lewis says any kind of training can be very valuable while working in a high risk environment.

“There are a lot of special hazards out here, of course,” said Lewis. “We like to know the area and we like to pre-plan and keep and ongoing relationship so we can stay on top of anything that might happen out here.”