Communicator

COMMUNICATOR 25 "…now we are more performance-measurement oriented and we are using data, experience and science to inform our business decisions" ~ Ken Block, president, CAFC, and head of Edmonton Fire Rescue Services While Fort McMurray's 180-strong muni- cipal fire crews were the first line of defence in the city, eventually an estimated 2,200 firefighters from communities across Can- ada and other countries assisted in battling the blaze. The Fort McMurray fire wasn't the first monster blaze in Canada and it won't be the last. But it was a reminder of how vulnerable communities are to runaway infernos and how dependent they are on well-trained and Ken Block, president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs and head of Edmonton Fire Rescue Services. LE S S O NS LE ARN ED f r o m L AC- M ÉGANTIC K EN BLOCK, president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs and head of Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, says the Lac-Mégantic tragedy in 2013 provided lessons for the fire service, but also for the rail industry and legislators. On the second anniversary of the disaster, the Railway Association of Canada (RAC) gave an update on steps that RAC and Transport Canada have taken to improve rail safety in Canada, including: ■ Trains carrying tank cars loaded with dangerous goods must have at least two crew members. ■ Emergency Response Assistance Plans must be in place whenever crude oil and other flammable liquids are carried. ■ Railways must share expanded information with municipalities about the dangerous goods travelling through their communities. ■ In 2014, the industry held 125 safety-related public meetings with mayors, city managers and First Nations chiefs from coast to coast, and shared information about the goods moving through 565 communities, to help first responders prepare and plan. ■ Canada's railways launched the AskRail mobile app aimed at providing emergency responders with real-time information about a train's rail car contents in the event of an emergency. ■ In 2014, Canada's railways trained more than 9,500 first responders, railway employees and industrial plant workers on dangerous goods handling and emergency response. @ top: courtesy Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs; bottom: ©Paul Chiasson / Canadian Press Even days after the tragic train explosion in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, the area surrounding the derailed tanker cars remained largely off limits to anyone other than fire crews.

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