Idaho Falls Safety Fest being held this week
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The following is a news release from the College of Eastern Idaho.
IDAHO FALLS — This week College of Eastern Idaho (CEI) has partnered with Safety Fest of the Great Northwest to provide free occupational safety and health training to the workforce and employers of eastern Idaho through the Idaho Falls Safety Fest event.
The first annual Idaho Falls Safety Fest, sponsored by INL, Bateman Hall, Inc. and the State Insurance Fund is happening this week, March 19-21 at College of Eastern Idaho.
Over 550 individual registrations were received to participate in the 40 safety classes offered during this event. Safety class topics include OSHA 10-hour Construction and General Industry, Rigging, Fall protection, OSHA Excavation Hazards, Active Shooter, Aerial Lifts, Scaffolding, Confined Space for Construction, Human Performance Improvement, 8-hour HAZWOPER Refresher, ATSSA Flagging, NFPA 70E, First Aid/CPR training and more. Pre-registration was required to participate.
In addition to training classes, the event also features a vendor showcase and demonstrations. Idaho National Laboratory has provided two simulators that event participants can experience; a fire fighting simulator where individuals can fight a kitchen fire, and a slip, trips and falls trailer that simulates various uneven walking surfaces.
Additional sponsors and vendors include: Edge Construction Supply, Fastenal Company Safety Provisions, Boise Rigging Supply, Advanced Industrial Supply, Idaho AGC Eastern Idaho Safety Consultants, Pacific Northwest OSHA Education Center at University of Washington, Fishers Technology, Idaho Traffic Safety, BBSI, Hartwell Corporation, Cooper Norman CPA’s, Sunroc Construction Company, and Rivers West Construction.
Idaho Falls Safety Fest is an annual training event that offers free safety and health training courses to workers, supervisors, and managers of all levels. This benefit is offered to the community to provide safety and health training in an effort to help reduce fatalities, injuries and illnesses. The focus is on keeping these courses free so that local small businesses with minimal or non-existent training budgets never have to suffer because of a lack of access to safety training.
Last year in eastern Idaho, there were several severe occupational accidents that resulted in at least two deaths, and left a few workers with injury-related issues for life. One of the root causes for these accidents is a lack of knowledge and training in the proper safety requirements necessary for employees to protect themselves and their co-workers.