The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and CN Railway will co-host two Ethanol Safety Seminars in Wisconsin during April.
The seminar in Stanley will be held on Tuesday, April 16 at the Stanley Fire Department, also co-hosted by ACE Ethanol LLC. The Wisconsin Rapids seminar will be held on Wednesday, April 17 in the auditorium of Mid-State Technical College, also co-hosted by Big River Resources Boyceville LLC.
Both seminars are free and feature a morning session from 9 am to 2 pm and an evening session from 5:30 pm to 10 pm. Lunch and dinner will be provided.
The goal of these seminars is for attendees to gain full ethanol emergency response training experience that they can put to use immediately in the field as well as pass along to other first response teams. A majority of this training is based on the Complete Training Guide to Ethanol Emergency Response, a training package created by the Ethanol Emergency Response Coalition (EERC) that has been distributed throughout the United States and to several countries worldwide.
“As a commitment to TRANSCAER (Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response), CN is happy to partner with the Renewable Fuels Association to conduct this series of Ethanol Safety Seminars for first responders, including firefighters, local emergency planning officials and police agencies,” says Scott McLeod, senior dangerous goods officer at CN Railway. “With a focus on ethanol, this seminar demonstrates the importance of preplanning and a continued partnership between responders, the producers, and transportation.”
Attendees will receive in-depth information on proper training techniques that first responders and hazmat personnel need to effectively respond to an ethanol-related emergency. While primarily targeting first responders, hazmat teams, safety managers, and local emergency planning committees, it is open to the general public.
“Safety remains a priority in the ethanol industry. It is important that those responsible for the safety of their communities are aware of the use and transportation of ethanol in their towns,” says Kristy Moore, vice-president of technical services for the Renewable Fuels Association. “The training information and materials attendees leave with are valuable resources that will aide in responding to an ethanol related incident should it occur.”
The Ethanol Safety Seminar focuses on numerous important areas of ethanol safety including an introduction to ethanol and ethanol-blended fuels, chemical and physical characteristics of ethanol and hydrocarbon fuels, transportation of ethanol-blended fuels, storage and dispensing locations, firefighting foam principles and ethanol, ethanol-blended fuel emergencies, and incidents at tank farm and bulk storage locations. Certificates will be awarded at the completion of the course.
To register for this seminar, go to www.rfa.traincaster.com.
The RFA will be co-hosting Ethanol Safety Seminars throughout 2013. Upcoming seminar locations include: Akron OH on April 24, and Canton OH on April 25, co-sponsored by Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway; Troy MI on May 9; Grand Island NE on June 12 and Columbus NE on June 13.
For more information on ethanol emergency response, visit the EERC website at www.ethanolresponse.com.