District 1 invites local fire department
to safety meeting

Every employee must pick a safety goal as part of his or her performance plan, and in Coeur d’Alene, the administrative team decided to host monthly meetings and go through their inspection checklist. That may sound pretty standard, but Business Operations Manager Drue Hatfield is letting her employees decide the content of the safety meetings.

“As long as it is tied to safety that relates to our work area, they have free reign,” Hatfield said. “The intent was for them to have creative freedom with a safety topic which meant something to them so they were really owning their safety.”

Program Specialist Andrea Littlefield ran with the idea and invited a member of the CDA Fire Department during Fire Prevention Week to teach the section how to use a fire extinguisher, complete with a demonstration.

The department brought their training device, which resembles a propane stove, and showed the admin staff how to target the spray from the extinguisher underneath the flame to put it out. Each team member was able to practice putting out the fire with a real extinguisher.

“I have been here a long time, and that’s the best safety meeting I have ever been to,” said Shad Flores, a buyer in supply who has been with ITD for 32 years.

Flores said the trainer walked them through a proper inspection and brought examples of all the different kinds of extinguishers.

“Now if anyone who attended the class has to use a fire extinguisher for real, they will know how to use it and what to expect,” Flores said.

Published 11-06-20