ROSEVILLE, Calif. — The California Office of Emergency Services and city of Roseville have opened a new Hazmat Derailment Training Site at the Roseville Fire Training Center, filling a need in the state that was underlined by a November 2020 derailment and hazardous materials spill near Goshen, Calif.
The facility, opened with a dedication ceremony on Nov. 19, uses tank cars donated by Union Pacific from that 2020 derailment, which involved six cars of hazardous materials. UP decontaminated the cars, which were then brought to Roseville to recreate the tangle of equipment that occurs in a derailment. The facility further simulates conditions with smoke and substances that mimic hazardous materials. The Roseville Fire Department expanded its training-center campus to accommodate the new factility, and the state OES provided $50,000 to move and set up the cars.
“This site allows us to recreate a derailment and make for very realistic training,” said Roseville Fire Department Chief Ryan Harrigan, “so we can really provide training to first responders not only in our city and our region, but throughout the state.”
Cal OES released this video about the new facility.
— To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.
Roseville, huh? Anybody remember the grandiose explosion of the Vietnam-bound munitions train back in 1973? Now there’s your training site prototype. Fortunately, perhaps miraculously, there were no fatalities from this incident.
Why doesn’t Gov Newsom just get a law passed outlawing derailments in his state?