Event is critical opportunity for agencies to come together, train for emergency scenarios
On Friday, October 24, the City of Naperville Fire Department will be conducting a live training session in cooperation with Canadian National (CN) Railroad. The event will take place on training tank cars provided by CN and will focus on preparing Naperville for a possible hazardous materials transportation incident. The exercise will take place on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) spur to the east of the Public Works Service Center, 180 Fort Hill Drive.
The railroad exercise will involve a rescue and Hazmat team mitigating hazards such as a chlorine vapor cloud, handling victim rescues and accomplishing mock large scale evacuations. Participants will include the Naperville Fire Department, Naperville Police Department, Naperville Emergency Management Agency, Aurora Fire Department, Aurora Emergency Management, Bolingbrook Fire Department, Downers Grove Fire Department, DuPage Office of Emergency Management, Lisle-Woodridge Fire District and Montgomery Fire Protection District.
Below is an overview of the training exercise and key times in the scenario:
- 12:30PM: Scenario begins. First fire department and police department companies arrive, assess the situation, begin operations and establish command.
- 12:30 – 1PM: Incident Command determines a significant incident and upgrades alarm appropriately.
- 1 – 1:30PM: Unified Command established and launching Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
- 1:30 – 2PM: Hazmat technicians put on Personal Protective Gear and start to mitigate the train issue. Teams rotate to continue training and hazmat technicians go through formal decontamination process
- 3 – 3:30PM: Scenario complete; fire companies begin a separate drill. Training will be conducted to practice effective foam operations for flammable liquid spills and fires involving flammable liquids.
The media and public are welcome to attend the training and must check in at the lobby of the Public Works Service Center, 180 Fort Hill Drive. Please see the map below for instructions on where to park if you are attending this training event.
