Ferrexpo has created a voluntary fire brigade at Belanovo Mining

Last year, Belanovo Mining and Processing Plant (BGOK), a part of Ferrexpo Group, set up a voluntary fire brigade. Yuriy Khymych, General Director of BGOK and leader of Ferrexpo’s corporate social responsibility projects in Ukraine, told GMK Center in an interview.

«We have good safety performance at Belanovo GOK. One of our initiatives last year was to create a voluntary fire brigade. Our employees undergo regular training and have already achieved the goal of arriving at the scene in less than 10 minutes,» he said.

According to Yuriy Khymych, in case of emergencies in the communities bordering the plant (Nova Galeshchyna, Bondary, Ostaptsi and Vasylenky villages), the team provides assistance in eliminating their consequences. In agreement with the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Poltava Region, the fire brigade of BGOK was included in the Plan for the involvement of civil defense forces and means.

«Of course, we are not in the first line of call and response, but it is an additional element of confidence for the communities, because it is closer to drive from us than from Horishni Plavni or Kremenchuk,» Khymych explained.

The voluntary fire brigade consists of 12 full-time employees of the enterprise: power engineers, electricians and mining foremen in the open pit. These people perform their daily work duties, but if necessary, they will quickly arrive at the scene of the fire. The team members were trained at Ferrexpo’s technical expertise center and were trained by a team of professionals from Poltava Mining’s emergency rescue service, which serves Yeristovo GOK and is stationed on its territory.

Belanovo GOK purchased a modern off-road fire truck on a German MAN chassis for the volunteer fire brigade, which currently has no analogues in the region. It is equipped with everything necessary to extinguish the fire quickly, with a tank that can hold 5,000 liters of water, 400 liters of foaming agent and 120 liters of carbon dioxide.

Ferrexpo intends to pay annual bonuses to employees of the Group’s Ukrainian plants: Poltava Mining, Yeristovo Mining and Belanovo Mining. The bonus will be equal to the average monthly salary and is expected to be paid in the first quarter of 2024.