The daily danger: Locals prep for rail mishaps

Appa said that the department already has a basic protocol in place. In the event of a derailment leading to a chemical spill or fire, Appa said, senior officers would keep their distance and assess the situation with binoculars before deploying assets. The scene would then be divided into “Hot” “Warm” and “Cold” zones. The hot zone, closest to the impacted area, would be reserved for members of the Kingston Fire Department who operate the countywide hazardous materials response team. The hazmat team members would be responsible for identifying materials involved and relaying the information to an incident command post located further back in the cold zone. Appa, a 38-year veteran of the fire service said that weather, especially the wind, would be critical factors in determining the response, as would the size of the accident scene which could potentially stretch across several miles in the event of a major derailment and explosion.

“There’s just so many variables, you can’t just train for a specific incident,” said Appa. “You just have to train for the worst and evaluate every incident individually.”