(The following story by Clarke Morrison appeared on the Citizen-Times website on May 13, 2010.)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — “Be prepared” was the phrase of the day during a multiagency drill that simulated a freight train slamming into a tanker truck disabled on railroad tracks.
“If this were to happen in real life, it would be a very dangerous situation,” said city firefighter Shane Valliere after spraying foam on a simulated gasoline leak. The foam is designed to stop gas vapors from igniting and contributing to a wider disaster, he said
Preparation for a release of hazardous materials involving railways was the point of Wednesday’s exercise hosted by the Fire Department on railroad tracks off Meadow Road next to the French Broad River.
More than 60 first responders with regional response teams from the city, Charlotte, Greensboro and Fayetteville were on hand to learn how to handle train accidents involving spills, injuries and fires.
“You can’t beat hands-on training,” said David Schoendorfer, hazardous materials manager for Norfolk Southern, which helped organize the exercise along with CSX Transportation. “We want our folks to be prepared out here, and we want our communities to be prepared.”
The drill was conducted using the “safety train,” an engine and railcars outfitted for training by the national Firefighters Education and Training Foundation.
“We have possibly one or two victims trapped in the locomotive,” a voice crackled over the radio, prompting a ladder rescue by first responders.
“We have been advised of a possible leak coming from a tank car,” the dispatcher said as firefighters in heavy gear moved into position.
About a dozen Norfolk Southern trains pass through Asheville each day, and Schoendorfer said about 5 percent carry hazardous materials.
Industry officials say train accidents involving such materials are extremely rare. Valliere, a captain with the Fire Department, said he can’t recall one occurring here.
“We had something similar to this five or six years ago over in the Enka-Candler area, where a tanker was actually struck by a truck, and we reacted the same way with that as we did with this,” he said.
Romano Desimone, hazardous materials director for CSX, said the exercise was a year in planning. He said it’s important for the railroad industry to work with local first responders.
“Because our accident frequency rate is so low, it’s not like (firefighters) running out to a dwelling fire maybe once or twice a month in their communities,” Desimone said. “They don’t get the opportunity to train for train accidents, so we really welcome this.”