Friday, May 13, 2005

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Students look at impact of train derailment

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Local police, paramedics and firefighters, got a taste of a big-time disaster Wednesday afternoon in a “tabletop” drill of a train derailment that was staged at McIntosh High School.

It was just a drill, but it simulated a complicated and life-threatening emergency. A train crashed into a school bus on the tracks at Kelly Drive, injuring 20 students. Fumes also were leaking into the air, overcoming several persons outdoors who also needed treatment.

In other words, mass chaos. But local officials have specialized hazardous materials teams at their disposal, and a phone system that can be used to make multiple phone calls simultaneously to evacuate homes in a given geographical area.

Ed Eiswerth, Peachtree City’s assistant fire chief, noted that any such phone message would include suggested routes for evacuation, perhaps depending on the prevailing weather. The police department would be responsible for sealing off the area by shutting down necessary roads and redirecting traffic

The phone alert system, called First Call, is funded by the county’s Local Emergency Planning Committee, a group of local industries who were also behind presenting the tabletop train derailment exercise. While the county has been fortunate that its train derailments have been minor, there is the potential for a significant event, said Capt. Pete Nelms of the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

Before the tabletop drill took place, emergency responders learned details about what worked and what didn’t in Graniteville, S.C., earlier this year when a train derailed at 45 miles per hour, causing a massive leak of chlorine gas and liquid that ultimately killed 10 people.

Residents were evacuated from their homes. Pets were left behind, and contractors for the federal Environmental Protection Agency scooped up as many as they could, bringing them to a local veterinarian where they were treated and reunited with their owners, said Barbara Scott of the EPA, who was one of the on-scene coordinators of the rescue and cleanup operation.

Local officials learned that one of the first problems was the lack of preparedness by Graniteville fire officials, who ultimately were convinced to hand control of the scene over to the local sheriff, who had more experience in working similar cases. In addition to that difficulty, initial communication between the numerous agencies that responded, railroad officials and EPA contractors was difficult, Scott said.

On top of that, one of the nearby fire station was too close to the incident scene, and it couldn’t be used, Scott added.

Ultimately, the leak was stopped when a contractor devised a special patch on site and the remaining chlorine liquid was pumped out of the wreckage, Scott said. Residents returned to their homes after each house was determined to be safe.

While local officials hope such a situation doesn’t happen here, there is the potential as hazardous chemicals travel on the CSX railroad tracks through Peachtree City and Tyrone each day. Hours upon hours have been spent planning response techniques and various approaches, and officials have a list of the various chemicals in case there is a train wreck or other spill that could endanger the public.