Safety training at the Whitfield PrepareAthon
Mohawk Industries displayed its safety culture during the first Whitfield PrepareAthon! event.
Promoting the company’s approach to safety, Mohawk employees at the Virgil Drive manufacturing facility demonstrated tornado and fire drill response for representatives from the Whitfield Emergency Management Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Whitfield County Local Emergency Planning Committee. This two-part emergency drill required all employees to seek shelter inside the building as if a tornado were approaching then simulate a response to fire by evacuating the facility and assembling at designated locations in the parking lot for a headcount and roll call. While employees exited the facility, the Dalton Fire Department went inside the building to simulate clearing the scene.
“At Mohawk, our first priority is always the safety of the men and women who come to work every day,” said Corporate Safety Director Terry Craft. “We never know when a disaster is going to happen, so we’ve worked to conduct regular drills to make sure everyone at our facilities is familiar with emergency preparedness procedures. Through our safety meetings and communications, we’ve also encouraged our employees to develop and practice drills at home so that their families will be prepared in the event of an emergency.”
Mohawk’s emergency drill protocol provides quick and organized response for a variety of emergency situations including fire, earthquakes, workplace violence or violent intruders, floods, tornadoes and severe weather. Since implementing formal emergency drills at each facility biannually more than a decade ago, Mr. Craft said Mohawk has seen drill times decrease and awareness of emergency preparedness increase.
"Extreme weather events have increased in frequency in the past 50 years," Whitfield County EMA Director Claude Craig said. "That is why it is more important than ever to take action before the storm to be prepared.”
Since 1990, Whitfield County has experienced two tornadoes, 82 events with high winds, 14 flash floods, nine floods and 21 winter weather events or storms that caused moderate to severe disruption to the affected communities.
Mohawk agreed to participate in the Whitfield PrepareAthon! to support the organizers’ efforts to be the first county in Georgia to host this type of event, which was created through a partnership between Whitfield Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, Georgia Emergency Management Agency, National Weather Service, Whitfield County Local Emergency Planning Committee and WDEF-TV.
“Not all disasters come with a warning,” said W. Montague “Q” Winfield, FEMA Region IV National Preparedness Division director. “As a part of America’s PrepareAthon!, take the steps now to get your family ready, get your businesses ready, and get your community ready before disaster strikes.”
For more information about how to prepare for an emergency, visit ready.gov/prepare.
Safety training at the Whitfield PrepareAthon