VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – On Thursday, May 25th at approximately 5pm, a semi tanker carrying hazardous materials heading north on Barnes County Road 21 nears the railroad crossing by River Road, the driver notices a Canadian Pacific Train approaching from the east.
Already behind his scheduled delivery the driver decides to try and beat the train through the crossing. As the semi crosses the tracks, the rear of his trailer is struck by the locomotive. The collision sends the tanker trailer into a passenger vehicle and a bus that was stopped on the north side of the crossing. There are multiple injuries and a large amount of the hazardous material carried by the semi was released during this training exercise.
The exercise was sponsored by Canadian Pacific Railway after the Heartland Consulting Group held a tabletop exercise for First Responders earlier this month to walk them through a train derailment that resulted in a fire, multiple injuries, and a hazardous materials spill from rail cars.
Valley City leaders, firefighters, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, dispatchers, EMT’s workers, local hospital officials and the Barnes County Emergency Manager all participated in the simulated exercise north of Valley City on May 25th.
Derek Hanson with Heartland Consulting Group said the exercise focuses on training first responders to deal with a stressful situation following a train derailment, injuries, fire, and hazardous materials spill. The full scale (Hands-on) exercise was held at the Canadian Pacific Railroad property at the North Valley Railroad Crossing on May 25th.
Valley City Fire Department spokesman Jeff Schlittenhardt was pleased with how first responders handled this training exercise
Valley City Assistant Fire Chief Lance Coit.
The FICTIONAL mock drill was set up for first responders so they we be able to effectively handle this situation should it ever occur in the future.
