(The following story by James Johnson appeared on the Grand Forks Herald website on September 10.)
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — An eastbound passenger train collides head-on with a westbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train hauling six cars of hazardous materials.
Fire crews spray down a tanker car leaking anhydrous ammonia.
Firefighters and first responders tend to more than two dozen people with head and abdominal wounds.
Police search UND campus for two people who jumped the train just before it collided.
The incidents were all part of a disaster drill staged Tuesday morning at the BNSF roundhouse at DeMers Avenue and Washington Street in Grand Forks. The drill was a chance to practice procedures in the event of a serious disaster and improve radio communication.
Linda Olson and Linda Rohde, directors of the exercise, were contracted by Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Amtrak Railways to run the drill. A day before the drill, the city found out no passenger rail cars could be spared for the exercise because they’re being used to evacuate people from the path of Hurricane Ike.
A couple of phone calls secured two city buses to substitute for the rail car. About two dozen people volunteered to be among the injured. Some mannequins were used to simulate severely burned passengers.
Timely response
The drill didn’t seem to move at an urgent pace, but delays were factored in.
“Not everything happens instantaneously,” said Kevin Dean, Grand Forks public information officer. “We build in a delay for a response time, so it’s as accurate to a real emergency as can be.”
Safety also was factored in, so drivers on DeMers wouldn’t be distracted by flashing lights or blaring sirens.
Grand Forks Police Sgt. Roger Pohlman said the two “jumpers” were arrested about 90 minutes into the drill.
Lessons learned
Aside from “a couple glitches,” Dean said the drill addressed how critically important effective communication is.
“We’re not repeating mistakes we made in the past,” Dean said. “911 did get a lot of phone calls.”
One critical area mentioned after the drill by Grand Forks Fire Department Safety Officer Dave Manthei is a judgment call for responders in any disaster: deciding what threat affects the greatest number of people.
“When firefighters and EMTs first arrive, they see people injured and want to help them right away,” Dean explained. “But if there’s a cloud of anhydrous ammonia about to float over city residents, then they have to decide between helping the injured or getting thousands of people evacuated.”
The On Track Training was sponsored in part by UND Borders Alert and Ready, UND Environmental Training Institute, BNSF Railway and Amtrak railroad, CF Industries and local law enforcement and fire departments.
More than 125 volunteers from Grand Forks region fire, ambulance and police responded, as well as area rescue teams, the Border Patrol, Grand Forks Air Force Base medics and the Red Cross.