The Ethanol Safety Seminars are heading to Alabama and Kansas. The first seminar will be held August 7, 2014 at the Alabama Fire College in Tuscaloosa and is co-hosted by Alabama Southern Railroad and the second seminar will be held on August 8, 2014 at Doster Community Center in Prattville and is co-hosted by Autauga Northern Railroad. Tuscaloosa is hosting two sessions: from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm and 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm.
Seminars are free, but registration is limited. Lunch and dinner will be provided. Certificates will be awarded to attendees at the completion of the course.
The Ethanol Safety Seminars then head to Kansas. The first seminar is August 11–12, 2104 at the Overland Park Fire Training Center near Kansas City co-hosted by the Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad with sessions from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. The next seminar is August 13, 2014 at the Webster Conference Center in Salina, followed by the final seminar on August 14, 2104 at Pratt Community College near Wichita. Both will be co-hosted by Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad and both will have morning sessions (9 am- 2pm) and evening sessions (5 pm- 10 pm).
All seminars are funded by a Federal Railroad Administration grant through TRANSCAER. RFA has been a TRANSCAER member since 2007.
The goal of these seminars is for attendees to gain 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 “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.
“Rail has proven itself to be one of the safest modes of transportation for hazardous materials over the years,” said Jimmy Patterson, general manager at Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad. “We must be mindful of possible risks, however, and be ready to respond should an incident occur. The Ethanol Safety Seminars provide emergency responders with the training they need to effectively react to a sudden event.”
Attendees will receive in-depth information on proper training techniques that first responders and hazmat personnel need to effectively respond to an ethanol-related emergency. While primarily targeting first responders, hazmat teams, safety managers, and local emergency planning committees, it is also open to the general public.
“The public relies on the nation’s first responders to protect them during the worst of emergency events,” said Kristy Moore, RFA vice president of technical services. “With these seminars, RFA makes sure that personnel receive the training they need to tackle these safety challenges before venturing into potentially hazardous conditions.”