DEBARY, Fla., – Chesapeake Utilities Corporation recently expanded its Delaware-based Safety Town concept into its Florida operations, renewing its focus on safety for all employees.
William Haffecke, assistant vice president of the company’s Florida operations, told the Delaware Business Times in an email that the new one-acre facility in Debary, Fla., took about three years to move from the design and approval phases, as well as construction.
“[It] is comprised of tech-enabled training rooms, gas line simulators, [an] electric grid simulator and three miniature homes fitted with appliances to simulate residential scenarios,” he said.
Safety Town first opened in Delaware in 2020 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is located behind Chesapeake Utilities’ Dover facility in Delaware at 500 Energy Lane, taking up two acres of land with an investment price tag of around $1 million.
“Safety Town provides opportunities to conduct simulated real-time drills and exercises to ensure employees, first responders and other community stakeholders are prepared in the event of an actual emergency,” Haffecke said.
The company has continued to grow around the East Coast, recently announcing investments in transmission projects in Florida in August 2024 after purchasing Florida City Gas for $937 million in late 2023. The growth points to needed investments around the board for Chesapeake Utilities, including safety for its employees and the communities in which they serve; health and safety is listed as just one of its several corporate responsibility goals on its website.
During training at either Safety Town location or the mobile training units, employees and first responders can experience real-life scenarios while exploring best practices and processes for responding to those emergencies, like a hit gas line or downed electrical wire.
“At Chesapeake Utilities, we believe nothing is more important than the safety of our employees, our customers and our communities. We built our Safety Town facilities to partner with local first responders and promote community safety. We have trained hundreds of fire departments and first responders in Delaware – and now in Florida – on how to respond to natural gas and electrical emergencies,” he said, noting that the company also has a mobile training option when necessary.
The new training area, like its counterpart in Delaware, features training in emergency response coordination, underground utility line locating and excavation safety, infrastructure integrity inspections, valve recognition and operation, and main installation, repair and maintenance.
“Our training does more than just educate – it enables collaboration and coordination between utilities and local first responders. As we continue to focus on maintaining the highest safety standards across our organization, our partnerships with local first responders are among the most valuable tools we have for emergency response and mitigation,” Haffecke said.
To date, he added that the company has conducted over 500 training courses for first responders in Delaware, in addition to training for its employees. The Florida addition will allow the company to train about 100 more first responders per year.
“This facility underscores our dedication to safety for our employees and the communities we serve across Florida. Safety Town’s specialized training environments provide invaluable, hands-on preparation for our team members and local first responders,” Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Sylvester said in a press release. “It allows for seamless classroom instruction and the ability to practice skills immediately.”
