Grant will fund crude-oil derailment training for 18,000 rural and remote emergency responders

A rise in train derailments carrying crude oil and other flammable materials through rural areas has caused concern that emergency responders in small communities are not trained to deal with such events. That's about to change. This year about 18,000 first responders in rural and remote areas will receive "specialized training at local fire stations for handling emergencies involving flammable liquids moved by rail," Mike Cook, executive director of Hazardous Materials Compliance and Training at the Transportation Technology Center, reports for the Daily Yonder. (American Association of Railroads photo: Firefighters training for an oil spill)

Training programs are part of a $2.4 million grant from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration that will send rail-safety experts from the Security and Emergency Response Training Center in Pueblo, Colo., around the country "instructing rural volunteer emergency responders about flammable liquids emergency response and rail incidents involving crude oil," Cook writes. The grant "will also fund the creation of a new web-based training program about flammable liquids moved by rail." (Read more)