Chiayi County Fire Bureau holds T-CERT drill, building safety net with corporate collaboration

The Chiayi County Fire Bureau conducted a large-scale T-CERT (Taiwan Citizen Emergency Response Team) drill at the National Palace Museum Southern Branch, aiming to bolster civilian disaster preparedness and foster cross-sector cooperation. This exercise moved beyond traditional, isolated firefighting efforts to build a resilient and cohesive safety network by engaging critical infrastructure and major corporations.

Notable attendees included Qiu Jing-xiang, head of the Disaster Management Group of the National Fire Agency; Peng Zi-cheng, director of the National Palace Museum Southern Branch; and Thomas Tang, deputy director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Kaohsiung Branch. Teams from prominent organizations such as Formosa Plastics Group, Budai Port, Taiwan High Speed Rail Chiayi Station, Dalin Biologics, Nice Enterprise, Chia-Hui Power Plant, and Lian Hwa Puzi Plant participated, alongside T-CERT representatives and community response teams from central and southern Taiwan.

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Disasters cannot be predicted, but we can decide our level of preparedness. Modern disaster prevention and response have entered an era that combines 'inter-agency collaboration' with 'corporate social responsibility.'

Chiayi County Fire Bureau Chief Cai Jian-an stressed the unpredictable nature of disasters and the importance of preparation. He highlighted that modern disaster response requires "inter-agency collaboration" and the integration of "corporate social responsibility." The core of the drill focused on "horizontal communication and experience sharing," where T-CERT teams demonstrated their skills in simulated scenarios.

Participants utilized limited on-site resources to translate their training into practical emergency actions. The drill underscored the power of collaboration between T-CERT units, local communities, and essential industries like high-speed rail, ports, power plants, water resources, biotechnology, and manufacturing. This integrated approach aims to maximize collective strength during times of crisis, creating a robust public-private partnership for disaster management.

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The core of today's drill is 'horizontal communication and experience sharing.'