Georgia First Responders Get Training on Railroad Safety

(TNS) – The dashcam video was clear. A truck carrying a number of SUVs and other vehicles was stopped across the tracks at a crossing.

That’s when the Amtrak passenger train slammed into the truck, shattering it and sending its payload of vehicles flying.

This did not happen in Lowndes County. It happened in Oklahoma about two years ago. But it was part of the classroom lesson in Valdosta Wednesday when first responders from near and far got free training on railroad safety from Norfolk Southern.

The wreck was reviewed on video inside a mobile classroom aboard the Safety Train, a special lineup of train cars designed to offer education and practice to emergency personnel at the NS Fry Street yard.

The railroad has offered free Safety Train programs for at least a decade, said Chad Edwards, a senior manager for hazardous materials with Norfolk Southern.

“NS covers 22 states, so (the Safety Train) could be in Valdosta this week and Tuscaloosa two weeks later,” he said.

About 219 first responders from across Georgia and Florida were expected to take part in one of several training exercises over a three-day period, Edwards said.

“The main purpose of the train is so that we can build relationships ahead of time” with local emergency workers, said Elliott Austin, a hazmat manager for NS’ Gulf division.

One of the main takeaways from the training was to make sure everyone was on the same page, said Robert Mercer , special operations captain for the Valdosta Fire Department.

“We get to see the different types of container cars, how they function,” he said. “This helps us relay information to the railroad. We learn the terminology so we can tell Norfolk Southern what’s needed.”

The Valdosta Fire Department had about 18 firefighters a day taking part in the training, he said.

The train’s classroom car started life as a 1950s refrigerated freight car before it was rebuilt, Austin said.

Other cars included a tank car, flatbeds and a car with special low-lying replicas of dome hatches which trainees can use to learn about entering and dealing with the cars.

Chemical spills, both vapor and liquid, could be simulated without the use of dangerous chemicals, Edwards said.

The train’s locomotive offered emergency workers the chance to see how to enter the car and remove injured workers — on a backboard if necessary.

Austin and Edwards both had firefighter backgrounds: Austin worked for years with Atlanta -area fire departments, while Edwards formerly worked with the Valdosta Fire Department.

Terry Richards is the senior reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times .

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