Incident alert

One fire appliance and an animal rescue team were sent to a closed quarry after a report from a dog owner of his dog being stuck on a ledge. On arrival, it was evident the owner had tried to rescue his dog by swimming across the water filled quarry and also become stranded.

He was only wearing a T-shirt and jeans in temperatures below 3 degrees. The individual and a friend, together with their 4 dogs, had trespassed. They had ignored signage and proceeded past 2 physical barriers (boundary fence and internal bund) prior to the incident.

Both the dog and its owner were rescued with no injuries sustained. However, he had exposed himself to the risk of drowning or hypothermia.The quarry was a site with no trespass identified over the previous 5 years and with 24hr security on the main gate.

The measures listed below were already in place but are all being reviewed following this incident:

• Closed site audit complete
• Closed Site Monthly Inspection
• Closed site risk assessment
• Boundary barriers in place and adequate
• Boundary signage in place and adequate
• Are security arrangements adequate
• Are emergency arrangements in place, adequate and up to date

Closed site management controls should be reviewed on a regular basis and updated to reflect any changes. This exercise would be particularly relevant prior to the start of the Easter holidays and the warmer spring weather.

The additional pdf is of the MPA's 'Guidelines for the management of public safety in operating and non-operational sites'.