The Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium (RDPC), of which The University of Findlay is an academic partner, is pleased to announce that a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) certified course is available for delivery in the 50 states and five U.S. territories.

The course, AWR 147 Rail Car Incident Response, was developed by The University of Findlay. The training is designed to educate rural first responders, government administrators, and emergency managers on freight rail car incidents involving hazardous materials.

Last year, there were more than 7,000 rail car accidents and incidents, of which 20 involved hazardous materials that required the evacuation of more than 5,000 people. In the last five years, there have been more than 166 incidents involving hazardous materials, most of which occurred in rural America, according to the Federal Railway Administration.

This new course will allow emergency responders in these jurisdictions to effectively respond to rail car incidents by gaining an understanding of potential hazards in train derailment, the properties of specific chemicals, and various incident control, confinement and containment mitigation techniques.

This eight-hour, instructor-led course was developed to introduce the rural responder community to basic rail car design and construction features as well as assessment strategies to help interpret damage to the rail cars in the event of a hazmat incident.

Upon completion of this course, participants will be better prepared to respond to a freight rail car incident without endangering the health and safety of the responders and the environment. The format of the AWR 147 Rail Car Incident Response course is mobile delivery, which means the course can be brought to any qualifying jurisdiction across the U.S.

Although no formal prerequisites are required to attend this course, it is highly recommended that participants have a working knowledge of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) before attending this course.

RDPC is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Training and Exercises Integration Division partnership of academic institutions with a vision of creating an environment wherein rural communities across America will have the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to enhance the safety, security and quality of life for their citizens.

Current members of the RDPC include East Tennessee State University, Eastern Kentucky University, The University of Findlay, Iowa Central Community College, NorthWest Arkansas Community College, and North Carolina Central University. Each of these institutions possesses extensive and unique capabilities relating to rural emergency preparedness training.

For more information about the consortium, contact Mark Alliman, RDPC program manager at UF, at 419-434-4135 or malliman@findlay.edu. You also may visit the RDPC Web site at www.ruraltraining.org.

UF is home to the School of Environmental and Emergency Management (SEEM), a multifaceted education, training and information-transfer program that focuses on environmental, occupational safety and health and emergency management issues. SEEM’s mission is to develop and deliver effective and practical educational, training and consulting programs across the United States through a combination of practical “hands-on” training; varied instructional techniques in classroom, lab and field settings; state-of-the-art, distance-learning opportunities; and internships and cooperative work experience programs.