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A mishap with hazardous materials can
affect an entire community.
Residents of Graniteville, S.C.,
faced the realities of an accident involving hazardous materials last Thursday
when a train wreck caused a chlorine gas leak that killed nine people and
injured 250 more.
Seven days later, the 5,400 residents
of Graniteville are still picking up the pieces. Only half of the residents have
been able to return to their homes.
The disaster there shows just goes to
show that accidents can happen anywhere, which is why public safety officials in
Glynn County try to prepare their personnel for almost any emergency.
Emergency preparedness was the
purpose of a hazardous materials training exercise Wednesday for Glynn County
firefighters.
"We have a lot of industry in this
area that allows chemicals to pass through Glynn County every day," said Al
Thomas, chief of the Glynn County Fire Department. "This class teaches our
employees how to handle hazardous materials."
Nine firefighters participated in the
technician training exercise, which teaches them how to use equipment and the
basics of handling different materials.
The fire department has about 20
firefighters who are already certified technicians in hazardous materials.
"This will help build on that
number," said Thomas, whose goal is to have firefighters on every shift who are
trained in hazardous materials.
The training put firefighters in
several scenarios involving different containers and chemicals. Instructors from
the Georgia Fire Academy directed the firefighters through possible situations
and ways to use their prepared kits and reactive thinking to solve problems.
The department holds two basic
operations and two technician courses a year. |
