New Westminster firefighters evacuated some residents from two buildings on the Quay on Saturday after a chemical spill on the train tracks near Quayside Drive.
But not to worry – the chemical spill was part of an emergency drill conducted by New Westminster’s police and fire departments.
“We set up an exercise with Southern Rail and did a bit of a mock drill on how we deal with a rail car that has either been damaged or compromised through vandalism etc.,” Deputy Fire Chief John Hatch explained. “We worked with our crews on a quick response.”
The emergency preparedness exercise got underway about 10 a.m. on Sept. 26, with a “fire” to a rail car on the train tracks east of the Kruger plant. Southern Rail, one of four railroads operating in New West, was part of the drill.
“We used a movie set fog machines that makes it look like its actual smoke,” Hatch said. “Our crews come down and go through their identification processes and identify the product.”
In addition to identifying hazardous materials, the exercise helped firefighters practise working with rail companies and companies transporting dangerous goods so they’re better prepared to deal with hazardous materials and the actions to be taken if an incident ever occurs.
“The exercise was twofold. One was to work with our fire crews. The other was to create a unified command system so that we work with police, emergency Health Services – B.C. Ambulance, any other agencies,” Hatch said.
Residents of two Quayside buildings were given the option of whether they wanted to take part in the training exercise.
“We did have 60 or so participants,” Hatch said. “Inside the buildings, we communicated through the public addressing system and announced there was an exercise taking place, that it was a drill.”
The police department’s Emergency Support Services volunteers and police reserves also participated in the exercise and took information and assisted people who had been evacuated as part of the drill. A muster station, which is a site in a safe zone where people can be registered, was set up as part of the exercise.
The Salvation Army provided “nourishment” and a safe haven for those involved in the two-and-a-half hour training exercise, Hatch said.
“We had a post-incident analysis where we had each group speak to it,” Hatch said. “It was very good. I think it is something that will grow in the future once people realize what we our objective was.”
Although signs were posted and notices were distributed to alert area residents to the training exercise, Hatch said the city notified the emergency communications dispatch centre (911) of the drill in case any callers were concerned.
