For first responders wanting a hazardous material training experience, Pueblo, Colorado is the place to go. The Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC), 20 miles from Pueblo, creates hands-on HazMat experience for firefighters and other first responders for incidents on cargo tanks, intermodal containers, tank cars, and mass transit rail and highway transportation system. SERTC spokesman Glenn Rudner said it includes the use of theatrical smoke, actual tank cars and highway vehicles, and real life situations that cover a broad spectrum of rail/highway accidents and spills.
The SERTC is part of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, which is charged with training the nation’s first responders. The consortium is coordinated by the Department of Homeland Security and is comprised of seven members, each of whom brings a different area of expertise in the field of emergency preparedness training.
The hands-on experience is for emergency response personnel who meet the pre-requisite requirements for each program. Others may attend and observe the scenarios, but will have limited engagement. The programs at SERTC are advanced level hands-on programs that are intended to give the attendee the experience that they are unable to receive anywhere else.
This program was created in 1985 and originally focused on training railroaders to handle hazardous materials during accidents. SERTC has since evolved to include training the transportation service industry, the emergency response community, the chemical industry, and government agencies. The training center sprawls over more than 3,000 square acres, and more than 55,000 men and women have trained there. According to Rudner, “No other facility in the world has this type of training for first responders.”
During the days of training lunch is provided along with all equipment needed for the course. Rudner stresses that, “We provide every participant with everything they need [up to and including lunch]. All they have to do is show up and we will take care of them.” The only course that requires the participant to bring their own equipment is the “Crude by Rail.”
There are three methods to this training; offense (stopping the problem at the source) defense (protecting from exposure and keeping the incident to the smallest, safest area), and non-intervention (evacuating and moving the public back, when limited resources will not allow offense or defense).
SERTC is currently looking for additional responders to attend their many classes, which may be paid for through grants. Rudner believes that this program can “make a difference” for first responders and can save lives. For more information or to register for the training go to //sertc.org/.