NS conducts training event for first responders in Alabama

Norfolk Southern Railway last week held a full-scale, hands-on safety training event in Birmingham, Alabama, to help prepare local first responders for emergencies involving trains.

Offered by the NS Operation Awareness and Response Program, the exercise was conducted in partnership with several local fire and emergency management departments.

The training provided participants practice in responding to an emergency in full gear; using operating equipment needed for actual emergencies; responding to a scene before donning protective gear and hazmat suits; and using drones to plan a response as a unified command.

"We do trainings like this to reach the first responders who serve the communities we live and operate in," said Cris Burch, NS manager of hazardous materials, in a press release.

Earlier in the week, more than 130 first responders received training on the NS safety train, which is outfitted with box-car classrooms, tank cars and a locomotive.

The Class I's training course covers such topics as safety around the railroad; tank-car identification, assessment, valves and fittings; locomotive emergencies; railroad emergency response; the AskRail mobile app; and response strategies and tactics.