Photo by Stephanie ElverdThe Mahoning County Haz-Mat team participated in Operation Awareness & Response (OAR) put on by Norfolk Southern on Poland Ave. in Youngstown on Wednesday.
YOUNGSTOWN — Heather Garcia, Norfolk Southern Senior Communications Manager, calls it “railroad 101” in rail disaster response. The company calls it OAR – Operation Awareness & Response.
Launched in 2015 with the objective to “educate the public about the economic importance of the safe movement of hazardous materials by rail and to connect emergency first responders in Norfolk Southern communities with information and training resources,” OAR and its safety train pulled into Youngstown on Wednesday, giving local first responders, many of whom descended on East Palestine after last year’s train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, hands-on training during real-life scenarios.
According to Norfolk Southern, the safety train includes a “dedicated locomotive, specially equipped classroom box cars, and several tanks cars for additional hands-on training along our lines.”
During Wednesday’s second session, the Mahoning, Trumbull and Portage counties Haz-Mat teams were able to participate in rail-disaster drills, including a simulated chemical leak from a tank car.
First responders were also able to access the AskRail — a software that can instantly provide accurate up-to-date data of a train cars’ contents and the dangers of that cargo — and follow the steps they would follow during a derailment event.
The implementation of AskRail into county dispatches and county emergency management agencies (EMAs) in the communities that are located along and near Norfolk Southern’s 20,000 miles of track is another part of the OAR program.
Last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR), working with Norfolk Southern, integrated AskRail into the Columbiana County and Beaver County emergency management agencies (EMAs) dispatching services. The software is sophisticated yet shockingly simple. A rail car’s identifying number is typed into a search bar on the application’s homepage. Almost instantaneously, the car’s cargo, complete with the total weight of its contents in pounds and the type of car, is displayed.
The cargo is immediately determined to be hazardous or non-hazardous and further identified as flammable or explosive. An emergency contact number for the railroad is also displayed which, when clicked, the link places a direct call. With one click, a user can also access health dangers associated with the contents and access the universal emergency response guide (ERG) set by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), including the suggested evacuation distance. With another click, the user can pinpoint the exact evaluation zone which is displayed on an interactive map. The user can also immediately view the entire consist (what is in or on each and every car) of the train in a list-view with hazardous cars highlighted. The innovative mobile app can also be installed on first responder cell phones, but by integrating AskRail into the county dispatch and EMA access to vital information is ensured via established, streamlined and reliable communications channels. Dispatchers can access the application at their desks and relay pertinent to first responders in the field or en route.
The integration of AskRail and the hands-on OAR training is an effort of the railroad to improve safety following the derailment and difficulties first responders faced on Feb. 3, 2023. The training focuses on tank car identification and assessment, tank car valves and fittings, locomotive emergencies, responding to railroad emergencies, the AskRail Mobile App and response strategies and tactics.
“First responders are always doing more training, but a lot of the time that training doesn’t present an opportunity to train on rail,’ Garcia said. “This gives them the opportunity to do that. They get to go in and see what the inside of a locomotive looks like, where the engine is located and just how small the confines of the locomotive really are. There are hatches they can access and can see what the inside of a tank car is like, how thick it really is and the experience of becoming familiar with the components of rail cars and what is needed in the unfortunate event of an accident.”
The training will be the same offered at the Norfolk Southern First Responder Training Center in East Palestine. Ground is expected to be broken on the facility in the village soon.
selverd@mojonews.com
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