Photo By Michael Strasser | Kurt Hauk, Fort Drum Directorate of Public Works director, addresses the workforce and...... read more read more
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (May 21, 2025) -- The support that the Directorate of Public Works provides every day to the Fort Drum community starts with safety-consciousness.
To that end, Fort Drum DPW conducted a Safety Stand-Down Day on May 20 to provide employees with safety and accident prevention training, and other safety-related activities.
“The purpose of the Safety Stand-Down is to bring awareness to the safety programs we have within DPW,” said Paul Queary, facilities operations specialist. “We started out in the morning with each individual branch doing their own safety checks, and then it moves into some more training sessions throughout the day.”
Queary said the training is branch-specific so those in the Utilities Branch can focus on topics specific to their jobs, like electrical safety, whereas members of Roads and Grounds might discuss personal protective equipment (PPE) while operating heavy machinery.
“We fall under General Industry standards, so we make sure we are all up to speed on our OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) procedures,” Queary said. “And once every month, within our branches, they have their own scheduled training. That covers one General Industry topic for about 45 minutes, and that can be anything from slips, trips and falls to the proper storage of chemicals, and then the floor is opened for any questions.”
Queary has organized safety stand-down events for employees before but said this was a much bigger endeavor with safety vendors and the Boot Mobile on site.
“We have vendors here to show our guys different kinds of protective equipment and give them an idea of what is out there,” he said. “And then the Boot Mobile is here for those authorized to get new work boots every spring and fall.”
As much as the stand down event centered on safety awareness for employees, Queary said the amount of construction and infrastructure projects happening on the installation also warrants a safety message for the community.
“We’re asking that motorists drive more cautiously around construction sites on the installation,” he said. “People have places they need to be, but they also need to be aware when we are working on the side of the road and that they follow road signage."
With the end of the Mountain Peak training exercise approaching, the training ranges will reopen for recreational activities this weekend. Jason Wagner, Fort Drum Natural Resources Branch manager, said May is turkey hunting season, and that means everyone visiting the training ranges – whether hunting, hiking or fishing – are required to wear blaze (fluorescent) orange clothing and headgear.
“When the hunting seasons are open, this is a regulation to keep everybody safe,” he said.
Kurt Hauk, PW director, said that “safety first” message was the overlying theme of the day.
“That’s the big picture that we’re talking about – watching out for yourself and each other so that at the end of the day everybody goes home safe,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 05.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.21.2025 11:31 |
| Story ID: | 498581 |
| Location: | FORT DRUM, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 320 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Supporting Fort Drum Soldiers, families, starts with safety, by Michael Strasser, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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