To help ensure that safety remains top priority for those who transport and bring ethanol to the marketplace, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and numerous Clean Cities Coalitions (CCCs) are hosting a series of Ethanol Safety Seminars at several locations throughout the United States in 2011. These seminars are free of charge, and while primarily targeting first responders, hazmat teams, safety managers, and local emergency planning committees, they are also open to the general public.

As a part of the Alternative Fuels Trade Alliance, the RFA and CCCs are able to hold these Ethanol Safety Seminars through the $1.6 million grant received from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This grant has been used to raise public awareness and foster understanding of alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies across the country. The goal of these seminars is for attendees to gain a full ethanol emergency response training experience that they can put to use immediately in the field, as well as pass along to other first response teams. A majority of this training is based on the Complete Training Guide to Ethanol Emergency Response, a training package created by the Ethanol Emergency Response Coalition (EERC) that has been distributed throughout the United States and to several countries worldwide.

“America is nearing a 100 percent saturation point with E10 in our nation’s fuel supply,” said RFA Market Development Director, Robert White. “As ethanol continues to flow across the country through railways and trucks into fuel retail stations, it is important for first responders in these areas to be well prepared and trained for ethanol related emergencies.”

The seminar has already been held in Harrisburg, PA and will be held at eight more locations in 2011 including Boston Metropolitan area, MA; Charlotte, NC; Houston and Beaumont, TX; Portland, OR; Stockton, CA; Indianapolis, IN and in Northeastern, OH. Since over half of the nation’s fire departments are volunteer based, each location will have a morning and afternoon session to accommodate schedules and reach as many participants as possible. Each safety seminar is conducted with the local Clean Cities Coordinator and is taught by a professional trainer with a background in firefighter/hazmat materials response. The RFA has been working diligently with the State Fire Academies to offer certificates of training or participation that can be used toward their local department’s training requirements.

For more information or to sign up for the Ethanol Safety Seminars, visit www.rfa.traincaster.com.