RealEstate
Tue Mar 10,2015 0:00 am

Bilingual Japanese-English Office Worker Disaster Drills Implemented Utilizing Vacant Buildings

Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
March 10, 2015
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.

Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. conducts participatory disaster drills for foreign and Japanese people working in its office buildings while utilizing vacant buildings scheduled for demolition under the Nihonbashi Muromachi 3-chome City Revitalization Plan (tentative name), a project in the Nihonbashi Revitalization Plan.

Approximately 40 people will participate in the March 10 training. The program includes Japanese and English explanations of fire and disaster equipment, training in the use of dry chemical fire extinguishers, an exercise to experience being confined in an elevator, and fire evacuation drills (experiencing loss of visibility due to smoke). The drills are to be held six times over a three-day period from March 9 to 11, with approximately 110 participants (of whom about 30 will be non-Japanese). This is Mitsui Fudosan’s first attempt to conduct disaster drills for its office workers using vacant buildings.

Mitsui Fudosan has conducted on a continuous basis more than 20 disaster drills in vacant buildings for Group office building operations and management staff since August 2014, meaning approximately 600 people have taken part and practical capabilities in the event of an emergency have been strengthened. Going forward, Mitsui Fudosan will share disaster readiness awareness and deepen cooperation among those working in the Company’s office buildings. In light of Mitsui Fudosan moving ahead on multiple redevelopment projects and creating new industries that are forecast to lead to an increase in foreign office workers, foreign language support will also be strengthened.

Details of the office worker participatory disaster drills utilizing vacant office buildings are described below.

1. Disaster action laboratory (lecture)
Trainers demonstrate how to use a fire extinguisher and explain in Japanese and English about the various types of firefighting and disaster readiness equipment located throughout the building

2. Dry chemical fire extinguisher training
Using a real fire extinguisher, two volunteers per session use the office extinguisher and check conditions after use
* Fire extinguishers used in most disaster drills are for training use and release compressed water, but in this drill we will use real dry chemical fire extinguishers and participants will experience being completely surrounded by smoke

3. Elevator confinement experience
Experience the condition of being confined in an elevator that has stopped between floors, and then being rescued

4. Fire evacuation experience (experience loss of visibility due to smoke)
Smoke will be pumped into a partitioned room using a smoke machine and participants experience evacuating from a smoke-filled room caused by a fire

In addition to these drills, Mitsui Fudosan also conducted disaster drills on March 5 in which all approximately 5,000 employees of Mitsui Fudosan and Group companies participated. Envisaging an earthquake striking directly beneath the Tokyo metropolitan area, Mitsui Fudosan strived to strengthen practical capabilities in the event of an emergency through initial response training, information communication drills among the Group-wide Emergency Headquarters and countermeasure headquarters of each department, as well as drills responding to Group employees unable to return home following a disaster and more. From early to mid-March, at several major properties, Mitsui Fudosan will conduct disaster drills in cooperation with tenant companies in accordance with the principles of “self-help,” “mutual assistance,” and “public assistance,” and with a strong sense of cooperation among corporate tenants, individual tenants, and building managers, which will lead to greater disaster readiness.