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Duluth Fire one of three fire departments to participate in safety and response strategy class

[Duluth, MN] The Duluth Fire Department was one of three fire departments in Minnesota selected to participate in a Safety Training and Response Strategies class this week. Over the last three days, Marine 19 boat pilots and hazmat technicians across the Department’s three shifts learned how to deploy a boom for specific hazmat situations that could take place in Lake Superior or the St. Louis River. A boom is a floating barrier that is used to contain large hazmat or chemical spills. The City of Duluth, Minneapolis, and St. Paul Fire Departments were selected to participate in the training due to a large amount of water within each city’s jurisdiction.

The training was funded by a Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness grant with support from Canadian Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness grant with support from Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway, and Union Pacific. The railroad companies provided the Duluth Fire Department with a 1,000-foot boom and a trailed to keep it in in case a hazmat situation was to occur. While the Duluth Fire Department will sign a Memorandum of Agreement with the railroad companies to use and maintain the trailer and the boom, the equipment will be available for use within the Twin Ports.

“I’m glad that we are getting the training because this is something that we could end up using in a real-life situation,” Duluth Fire’s Technical Services Coordinator, Rob Morehouse, said. “We have highways that go over the St. Louis River, we have the harbor where something could leak, and we have a big lake where anything could happen. This is just another layer of safety for our environment and one more way that our Department can serve our community.”

The boom is one more hazmat asset that the Department has at its extensive toolbox.

“Thanks to the Chemical Assessment Team (CAT31) heavy rescue hazmat response apparatus, the 1,000-foot boom with Marine 19, and the training that we have undergone, we are the most prepared that we have ever been to respond and mitigate hazmat situations,” Morehouse said. “While we hope that we don’t have to use these resources that often, it’s beneficial to be prepared and have the tools that we need to respond to situations that can happen here.”

The safety and response strategy training is the first of its kind that the Duluth Fire Department has participated in.

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