BNSF News

Tacoma-Area Firefighters Benefit from Hazmat Training

2010-06-17

BNSF's support of hazardous materials (hazmat) training within BNSF's Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response (TRANSCAER) outreach across the BNSF system continued recently with classroom and hands-on training at the Tacoma, Wash., rail yard.

The Tacoma sessions primarily involved firefighters and emergency responders from east and central Pierce County, Puyallup and Tacoma fire departments.

The session in Tacoma followed a training effort at the Washington State Fire Chiefs Hazmat Conference in Wenatchee, Wash. Brock Lowman, BNSF manager, Hazmat Programs, said community outreach efforts help strengthen the relationship between BNSF and local emergency responders.

"It benefits everyone for local emergency responders and firefighters to know how to react to incidents involving hazardous materials," Lowman said. "BNSF and other TRANSCAER volunteers are happy to provide support through training opportunities like this one."

What's so special about BNSF 99911?

Spring training in Washington State included the use of BNSF 99911, a specialized training tank car.

BNSF 99911 was originally constructed from a former lube oil tank car. The car is considered one of the premier rail training cars in North America, and hazmat teams like it because of its self-contained functionality. In addition, the car offers other advantages that make it attractive from a training standpoint.

• BNSF99911 can stand alone as a training prop or exercise focal point.
• The car has been called a "rolling museum," with valves and fittings common to tank cars.
• BNSF 99911 is equipped with three high-pressure tank-car housings and has numerous low-pressure value sets on the top and bottom.
• The special training car can simulate leaks from on-board water tanks, generators and air compressor equipment.

This season, a large-volume smoke generator was added to BNSF 99911's equipment for high-level drills and events. BNSF 99911 provides "simulated" leaks created from air pressure, water pressure and smoke, which provides teams with more realistic experience in the event they are called to respond.

The Newton, Kan., Mechanical team keeps the car in shape and provides support for BNSF 99911 to add features that help improve training capability. For the training in Tacoma, Ben Marx, terminal superintendent, and David Marks, mechanical foreman II, made sure the Tacoma yard was properly prepared for the hands-on drills. Randy Boyington, hazmat inspector, Federal Railroad Administration, also attended two of the sessions to support the preparedness effort.

BNSF Headquarters

BNSF Railway Company
2650 Lou Menk Dr. 2nd Floor
P.O. Box 961057
Fort Worth, TX 76161-0057
Phone: (817) 352-1000

For more information on the company and its transportation solutions, visit the BNSF Web site at www.bnsf.com