ALERT grant enables IAFC to continue rail safety program

By EMS1 Staff

FAIRFAX, Va. —The IAFC will continue to offer rail safety training thanks to a recent grant.

The IAFC was awarded the grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration under the new phase of the ALERT grant. The funds ensure that the organization will continue to train volunteer and remote responders to effectively manage emergency rail incidents.

Training from the initial 2015 grant included:

• Online: Ethanol Emergencies, Hydrogen Response, HazMat Awareness and coming soon: Regional Rail Response. So far, 2,725 responders have been trained via the online courses and the IAFC’s outreach continues.
• Instructor Lead Training (ILT): Ethanol Seminars, HazMat Operations and Regional Rail Response. In the first grant period of performance, 1,571 responders were trained with 13,394 contact hours with an additional extension of the Regional Rail Response class.

“The ALERT grant program has been a tremendous success,” IAFC president Chief Thomas Jenkins said. “Thanks to this federal assistance, the IAFC through the availability of both in-person and web-based training will be able to continue to provide crucial training and information to thousands of emergency responders from coast to coast.”