Union Pacific Railroad conducted training for 35 emergency response personnel from eight states December 1-3. The training focused on sharpening the emergency responders’ skills to better prepare them in the unlikely event of a crude-by-rail incident in or near their respective communities.
Union Pacific proactively reaches out to fire departments as well as other emergency responders along its lines to offer comprehensive training to first responders in communities where the railroad operates. The company annually trains approximately 2,500 local, state and federal first-responders on ways to minimize the impact of a potential derailment. Union Pacific has trained nearly 38,000 public responders and almost 7,500 private responders (shippers and contractors) since 2003. This includes classroom and hands-on training.
The recently completed training covered a variety of safety subjects, including identification of tank car types that transport crude, tank car fittings, tank car construction, chemical and physical properties of the different types of crude oil and crude oil response precautions. Participants received hands-on experience in assessing tank car damage, making certain on-site repairs, controlling the release of crude oil from damaged rail cars and crude oil fire suppression techniques.
Class members participated in a simulated crude oil fire. The simulation helped students understand how the railroad would work with them in an emergency, and how to work safely while on railroad property.
The three-day, 24-hour courses were held at the Association of American Railroad’s Transportation Technology Center near Pueblo, Colorado. Union Pacific paid for all attendees’ expenses, with no cost to communities or organizations. So far in 2014, the railroad has trained 314 emergency responders on crude oil safety at the Pueblo facility.
Emergency response personnel from the following organizations attended the course:
Arkansas:
Pine Bluff Fire Department, Pine Bluff
California:
Cal Fire – Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, San Luis Obispo
Benicia Fire Department, Benicia
Oroville Fire Department, Oroville
Illinois:
Elmhurst Fire Department, Elmhurst
Mutual Aid Box Alarm System – Illinois, Wheeling
Wheaton Fire Department, Wheaton
Iowa:
Belle Plaine Fire Department, Belle Plaine
Louisiana:
Olla Volunteer Fire Department, Olla
Port Allen Fire Service, Port Allen
Office of State Fire Marshall, Baton Rouge
St. James Parish, Convent
Pineville Fire Department, Pineville
Minnesota:
South Metro Fire Department, St. Paul
Oregon:
Clackamas Fire District, Clackamas
Gresham Fire & Emergency Services, Gresham
Portland Fire & Rescue, Portland
Umatilla Tribal Fire Department, Umatilla
Texas:
Homeland Security, Houston
Galveston Fire Department, Galveston
Huntsville Fire Department, Huntsville
San Antonio Fire Department, San Antonio
About Union Pacific
Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP). One of America’s most recognized companies, Union Pacific Railroad connects 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail, providing a critical link in the global supply chain. From 2004-2013, Union Pacific invested approximately $30 billion in its network and operations to support America’s transportation infrastructure. The railroad’s diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Coal, Industrial Products and Intermodal. Union Pacific serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers, operates from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada’s rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways. Union Pacific provides value to its roughly 10,000 customers by delivering products in a safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible manner.
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