SMART Training
There seems often to be extreme nervousness whenever a hazardous material escapes its container, whether it happens on the highway, the railroad, in an airplane, from a pipeline, or from a ship. Experience has shown that the consequences of a spill can be disastrous, but most spills receive rapid and effective response from those who are trained in dealing with the hazards. Training is the primary weapon to use against the possibility of consequences, and the presence of competent hazardous materials specialists will allay most fears of the public in short order.
Most railroads serving heavy industry will be faced with hauling hazardous materials on their lines. The records show that, by far, the vast proportion of these shipments are handled without mishap. But the possibility exists, and remedial measures must be available to minimize the jeopardy to the public. The Southern region of New Hampshire is capably protected by a team of specially trained, full time firefighters of Nashua Fire Rescue, and these are augmented by industry and community specialists who have a vested interest in this territory. This is the SMART team (Souhegan Mutual Aid Response Team), which is comprised of 40 Nashua firefighters, backed up by about 100 area people, from industry as well as community organizations, all of whom have received intense and precise response training. There are eighteen communities which actively participate in this team effort, and many area industries.
Nashua Fire Rescue has ten SMART people on duty at any time with five assigned to Engine 2, which is the primary hazardous materials response unit, and the other five dispersed throughout the other units, but available for immediate use. Superintendent of Training Roger Hatfield, whose wisdom and enthusiasm have been primary motivations for the high degree of professionalism in the SMART team (which is “Level A” qualified, to take on just about anything), is quick to praise industry for its extensive involvement in the development of preparedness planning. He points to local industry, such as Hampshire Chemical Company, whose Jim Todd works closely in pursuing the training, planning and communication efforts which make response preparedness effective. And he pointed specifically to the DuPont Corporation, which has just concluded a week-long training session in Nashua with its TRANSCAER program, having made available three specially equipped railcars and two DuPont staffers who conduct realistic training. Roger’s words: “Without the commitment of DuPont and the availability of DuPont experts and advanced training aids, our efforts to develop effective emergency response programs would not produce what we have today!”
The TRANSCAER program which DuPont offers is a nationwide effort to educate the community on the transportation of hazardous materials and to develop emergency response and containment plans in the event of an incident. TRANSCAER stands for “TRANSportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response” and is designed to encourage understanding by community residents of the hazardous materials moving through and the need for them by providing an interface between community and industry. The equipment provided by DuPont and the instructors who travel with it are geared to assist the local officials in developing what is needed for appropriate emergency response, and the emphasis is in building partnerships between the citizens and those involved in the products themselves. As an example, the TRANSCAER program utilizes regional committees composed of representatives of the chemical industry, the transporters, state and municipal oversight organizations
DuPont has invested much in the rail equipment which is the foundation of the TRANSCAER program. The tank car is equipped with multiple domes, valves and fittings covering virtually every type which would be involved in an emergency response situation. The car construction demonstrates to the observer the protection which is built in. And there is a smoke supply system by which leakage can be simulated for training purposes. The accompanying box car is actually an air conditioned classroom fully equipped with cutaway valves and fittings, a display of hazardous materials placards and other instructional devices. Up to 25 trainees can be seated. However, experience has shown that the time can be best used by focusing on the hands on exposure, with perhaps two classroom hours, and lots of time for questions and answers.
Clearly, the SMART program lives up to its name. The TRANSCAER equipment has just been sent to Nashua for the third time by DuPont, indicating both the measure of success and the value of support which this giant in the chemical industry sees in the way the southern New Hampshire community is protected. Guilford Rail is pleased to participate in the SMART program and fully endorses the community preparedness philosophy which is the reason for this very active training system.