Training

April 20	Sheffield, AL	Table-Top
May 12	Albemarle County, VA	Table-Top
June 11	King of Prussia, PA	Full-Scale Exercise
August 12	Cambria County, PA	Table-Top
TBD	Bluefield, WV	Table-Top
TBD	Crewe, VA	Table-Top
TBD	Lehigh County, PA	Table-Top
TBD	Rome, GA	Table-Top
TBD	Schenectady County, NY	Table-Top

To register on-line for training go to:
www.transcaer.com/events.aspx

Each year Norfolk Southern sponsors an Advance Tank Car Emergency Response Course at the Association of American Railroad’s Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC) in Pueblo, Co.

For more info on the training opportunities available at SERTC click the following link:

http://sertc.org/

As part of a voluntary industry initiative, Norfolk Southern is helping to train local emergency responders in how to safely respond to potential incidents involving trains moving crude oil.

Norfolk Southern and other large railroads are sponsoring classroom and hands-on training at the Association of American Railroad’s Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC) in Pueblo, Co. The railroads in early 2014 committed $5 million to the initiative, including developing a three-day training course and paying for
1,500 first responders to attend.

In 2014, Norfolk Southern invested $126,000 to enhance training at the AAR’s training center. The company also provided $378,000 to cover the costs of travel and training for 126 first responders from 11 states, primarily along the company’s crude oil transport corridors. Those participants included fire chiefs, paramedics, homeland security officials, hazardous materials officers, and others from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, and Kentucky.

Employees in Norfolk Southern’s hazardous materials and environmental operations assisted with training. Attendees learned about the different types of crude oil moved by rail; basic site and damage assessment at a derailment; tank car design and construction; planning for crude oil incidents; and working with the railroad. A simulated derailment of 20 tanker cars offered hands-on training.

In 2015, Norfolk Southern sponsored training for 80 additional emergency responders and has committed to provide training for 40 more emergency responders in May 2016.

Free Web-Based Crude by Rail Training for Emergency Responders. The Association of American Railroads, in cooperation with the seven major railroads, BNSF, CN, CP, CSX, KCS, NS, and UP are now offering, at no charge to emergency responders, Crude by Rail Web Based Training.

This program, developed by TTCI-SERTC, is designed for and gives the emergency responder the basic knowledge to respond to incidents involving CBR. The web-based training is designed for your convenience. You decide when and where to start your training. Instructors teach this program in a format that is easy for you to understand, and it gives you the foundational information needed to make basic protective decisions in the event an incident happens in your jurisdiction

• The program covers:
• History of crude oil
• Planning and working with the railroads
• Basic tank car recognition and design
• Chemical, physical, and toxic properties of the different crude oil transported
• Basic site and damage assessment
• Tactical product control methods, including the application of firefighting foam agents, water and spill control procedures

Just click http://www.aar.com/CBR.html to get free access to the program

AWR-147 Rail Car Incident Response Course – Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium

This eight-hour awareness-level course is designed to increase the knowledge of first responders in recognizing and characterizing the different types of rail cars, potential leaks, and courses of action to be taken based on initial site assessment. The course will increase participants' knowledge of safety and hazardous conditions that may exist at the scene, and will allow them to become familiar with safe practices adopted by the railroad industry.  This course has been developed by The University of Findlay and is delivered in an instructor-led format.

https://www.ruraltraining.org/training/courses/awr-147/

FRA Locomotive Emergency Response Operations Video

This Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) video describes rescue operations for train crews from locomotives involved in crashes or derailments.  Includes information regarding approaching the site of a locomotive emergency, entering the locomotive, and flagging oncoming trains, as well as a listing of railroad emergency contact and local FRA Regional Office telephone numbers.

Watch the video on YouTube.

Transportation Rail Incident Preparedness and Response (TRIPR) -  PHMSA Training Program

The Transportation Rail Incident Preparedness and Response, Flammable Liquid Unit Trains resource materials were developed to provide critical information on best practices related to rail incidents involving hazard class 3 flammable liquids, such as crude oil and ethanol.  A key component of this initiative is to learn from past experiences and to leverage the expertise of public safety agencies, rail carriers, and industry subject matter experts in order to prepare first responders to safely manage incidents involving flammable liquid unit trains.

These training resources offer a flexible approach to training the first responders and emergency services personnel in pre-incident planning and response. Each module contains a PowerPoint presentation, Student Workbook, and Instructor Lesson Plan. In addition to these materials, there are three interactive scenarios with animation and introduction videos to help instructors lead tabletop discussions. Click on the link below to download the TRIPR materials.

TRIPR Fact Sheet (PDF)

TRIPR Resources

AAR-API Crude Oil Training

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the member companies of both organizations have worked to create a safety awareness course for first responders. The course is meant to provide some of the information first responders need to know before approaching an incident involving crude oil moved by rail. While crude oil is a flammable liquid and should be treated as such during a response, the growth in crude oil by rail has raised concerns about how first responders can be better prepared if an incident occurs. This program seeks to assist in preparation by describing the characteristics of crude oil and the rail cars it is shipped in, the RECEOS strategies that should be considered if crude oil is present, spill response and firefighting considerations, and the need for structured incident management.  This course has been designed for first responders with basic fighting training and is offered free of charge.

Chlorine Safety Training Tour

There are many resources available for chlorine emergency response training. Presentation topics include: chlorine properties and emergency response; chlorine tank cars and rail safety; and the proper use of Emergency Kits A, B and C to mitigate leaks from chlorine cylinders, ton containers and tank car valves.

Click here learn about the Chlorine Safety Training Tour.

Anhydrous Ammonia Training Tour

With Anhydrous Ammonia being a large part of American agricultural, manufacturing, commercial, and transportation industries and incidents occurring in the past across the United States, there is a possibility that at some point a large ammonia incident may occur. TRANSCAER® has created a high-quality training program that will help prevent and or mitigate such an incident for emergency responders in communities where anhydrous ammonia is manufactured, stored, shipped, transported, or used in high volume quantities. All the materials were developed by our team of seasoned experts from across various industries.

Click here to learn about the Anhydrous Ammonia Safety Training Tour.

Ethanol Training

To enhance the knowledge, capability and readiness of operational emergency response agencies to effectively respond to fires, spills and other emergencies involving ethanol and ethanol blended fuels, the Ethanol Emergency Response Coalition has developed educational materials, training programs and other products for emergency responders that will improve their knowledge of and ability to respond to emergencies involving ethanol and ethanol blended fuels, and allow them to make informed decisions regarding capability based on community risk and other factors.

Click here to learn about the Ethanol Emergency Response Coalition resources.

Flammable Liquids Transported By Rail

The Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC) in partnership with the Center for Rural Development (CRD) have released “Introduction to Flammable Liquids Training”. This is a Web Based Training program that is available at no charge to emergency responders. This Web Based Training program is designed to assist volunteer and rural emergency responders with the understanding of, preparing for, and appropriate response to incidents involving flammable liquids including crude oil, ethanol, and other flammable liquids that travel by rail through their communities. This self-paced program is designed to build a strong foundation for the emergency responder.

The program, developed by SERTC, is designed to be a self-paced program where the participant can start and stop as needed throughout the 4 hour program. A base evaluation starts the program and ends with a final evaluation to allow the participant to gauge what has been learned. Upon successful completion, the participant will receive a certificate of completion.

Click here to participate in the Introduction to Flammable Liquids Training course.

PHMSA First Responder LNG Safety Video

There are over 300,000 miles of transmission lines carrying Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) across the United States, and over 1.8 million miles of local distribution lines. LNG supply and demand are both increasing, and the rate at which it is shipped into the country is also increasing.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has produced an LNG training video specifically for fire marshals, fire chiefs, government officials and other personnel who may have a part in the planning and response to LNG incidents.

The 30-minute video is very comprehensive, covering:

• Physical properties of LNG as a cryogenic liquid and a flammable gas;
• Methods of transportation including marine tankers and trucks;
• Different types of pipelines and their use;
• Compression stations, placed every 100 miles of transmission lines;
• “Peak shaving” and other types of LNG storage facilities;
• The types of safety plans and mechanisms in place at all of the above.

The video discusses common accidents or incidents one can expect when LNG is involved, and also does a good job at describing the types of major accidents that have not happened but are possible.  Rail shipments of LNG are expected to increase in intermodal containers and at some point tank cars if approved by the Federal Railroad Administration.

Click here to learn more about LNG.