More than 1,926 first responders in 18 cities in 13 states across Norfolk Southern’s network trained with the Norfolk Southern Safety Train, the railroad said.
With rolling classrooms and hands-on activities, the safety train provided free training to firefighters, police officers, emergency management personnel, and other first responders on how to safely respond to a rail-related hazardous materials incident.
“Our safety train allowed us to expand our outreach to more first responders and emergency personnel in more communities than ever before, equipping them with education and resources to help raise their level of emergency preparedness in the unlikely event of a rail incident,” David Schoendorfer, system manager hazardous materials, said in a news release. “The training also helped us build relationships with first responders across our network.”
The NS safety train’s final stop for 2016 was in Columbia, S.C., Nov. 11-13, where 73 first responders received training. The train began in April in Altoona, Pa., and along the way provided training to emergency responders in Alexandria, Va.; Atlanta; Baltimore; Buffalo, N.Y.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Chicago; Cincinnati, Ohio; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Greenville, S.C.; Harrisburg, Pa.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Newark, N.J.; Norfolk, Va.; Slidell, La.; Spencer, N.C.; and Toledo, Ohio.
