First Responders Complete Crude-By-Rail Safety Training at
State-of-the-Art Facility in Colorado
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - September 29, 2014 - CSX recently
hosted crude-by-rail incident response training for 40 first responders
representing 30 communities around the CSX network at the Security and
Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC) in Pueblo, Colorado.
The firefighters and police officers from Alabama ,
Georgia , Illinois ,
Kentucky , Michigan ,
New Jersey , New York ,
North Carolina , Ohio ,
Pennsylvania , Tennessee
and Virginia
completed three days of training with hazardous materials specialists and instructors
from CSX and the Association of American Railroads.
The training focused on preparation for and emergency
response to railroad incidents involving crude oil, and included an overview of
the history of crude oil extraction, chemical and physical properties of
different types of crude oil currently being transported, incident site and
damage assessment, and tank car design and construction. Participants also
practiced specialized response techniques and incident command scenarios during
mock derailments.
Capt. Kathleen Thompson, a 19-year veteran with the Grand
Rapids (MI) Fire Department, said, "I believe I will make my department
and the city I serve safer by attending this program. Not only did we hear some
pretty extensive lectures on the science of crude oil and case histories on
incidents, but more importantly we participated in multiple hands-on, crude oil
live-fire scenarios. And I now have met and made connections with experts I can
rely on if I ever have the need."
Commander Tim Henderson of the Nashville Fire Department
Special Operations Division said, "The training we have received at SERTC
over the past few years and our continued relationship with CSX hazmat
professionals have been a tremendous benefit to our personnel. The training regarding
crude oil movements by rail is a great experience and the information we
received from CSX employees is exceptional."
"As a rural county, our ability to fund training of
this caliber is nonexistent, so we are very appreciative of CSX for the opportunity
to participate in this training," said Deputy Fire Coordinator Daniel
Imfeld of the Chautauqua County, New York HAZMAT Team. "This training will
not only help us in the event of a crude oil incident but gives us the
fundamentals to respond to many hazardous materials situations."
The event marked the latest step in CSX's ongoing commitment
to provide a variety of training opportunities for first responders across its
network. CSX's training reaches more than 7,000 first responders each year
through hands-on sessions like those operated at SERTC, classroom training at
local fire stations, exercises and table-top drills, web-based and self-study
training courses. The hands-on and classroom safety training helps strengthen
CSX's partnership with first responders and provide a higher level of emergency
readiness.
Earlier this year the CSX Safety Train: Energy Preparedness
Program visited many of these communities to train more than 1,300 local first
responders in partnership with the Firefighters Education and Training
Foundation. The Safety Train will make several stops in the mid-Atlantic and Midwest this fall.
"This training demonstrates CSX's commitment to helping
the first responders throughout our network prepare both in the classroom and
in the field for potential rail-related incidents," said Skip Elliott,
vice president, public health, safety and environment, CSX. "In addition
to our CSX Operation Respond mobile application launched recently, the SERTC
training brings the right information to the right people to help protect the
communities we serve."
Participating organizations
Atmore Fire Department
City of East St.
Louis Fire Department
Charlotte Fire Department
Bergen County Police Department
Auburn Fire Department
Chautauqua Emergency Services
Willard Fire Department
Trevose Fire Department
About SERTC
Established in 1985, the Security and Emergency Response
Training Center (SERTC) is operated by the Transportation Technology Center,
Inc. (TTCI), a subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads. Its
original mission was to train railroad officials to safely handle accidents
involving tank cars carrying hazardous materials. The training proved to be so
successful that attendance was opened up to other emergency responders. SERTC
now serves not only the transportation service industry, but also the public
sector emergency response community, the chemical industry, government agencies
and emergency response contractors from all over the world. Since inception,
SERTC has trained well over 50,000 students worldwide.
About CSX
CSX, based in Jacksonville ,
Florida United States , where nearly
two-thirds of the nation's population resides. It also links more than 240
short-line railroads and more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports with major
population centers and small farming towns alike. More information about CSX
Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at www.csx.com. Like us on
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/OfficialCSX) and follow us on Twitter
(http://twitter.com/CSX).
Contact:
Melanie Cost
Melanie_Cost@csx.com
(904) 359-1702