Members of Cranbrook Fire & Emergency Services, along with over 30 members from regional fire departments and other agencies participated recently in emergency rail car incident management training. BC TransCaer, CP Rail, Quantum Murray Emergency Response and DOW Chemical along with the Cranbrook fire department, hosted training sessions on how to deal with an incident involving a leaking railcar or derailment.

A specially fitted rail tanker car, designed for demonstration and training simulations, was brought in to allow responders to operate and understand the different safety components and a gain a better understanding of how to reduce or mitigate a situation quickly.

“Having the local agencies gather together for these types of sessions helps responders to build relationships, which is important in the event of a major incident in the region,” says David Lind, Deputy Chief of Cranbrook Fire and Emergency Services. “The service provided to our communities by the volunteer presenters has helped to better prepare our responders.”

While incidents of this nature are rare due to the diligent regulations and safety features accidents do occur, and with this type of training the members of Cranbrook Fire will have the additional tools to deal with these incidents in a safe and effective manner.

The training, however, was timely in that in the early hours of Saturday September 8, a rail car containing hydrogen peroxide was reported to be leaking. Fire emergency crews, CPR representatives, and a Hazmat contractor were on scene quickly and mitigated the situation with minimal loss of product or effect to the environment.

Photos courtesy Cranbrook Fire & Emergency Services

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