WASHINGTON — The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) announces that it will partner with the Sangamon Valley Local Emergency Planning Committee as well as the Springfield and Taylorville Fire Departments in Illinois to hold two free Ethanol Safety Seminars on Aug. 10. The first seminar is only open to Springfield Hazmat personnel and will take place from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Springfield Fire Department in Springfield; the second seminar is open to the public and will be held from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Taylorville Fire Department in Taylorville. The seminars, which RFA has co-sponsored since 2010, are designed to educate first responders, hazmat teams, safety managers, and local emergency planning committees on proper ethanol emergency response training techniques that they can immediately put to use in the field and pass along to other first response teams. Seminar materials are largely based on the "Training Guide to Ethanol Emergency Response," which was created by the Ethanol Emergency Response Coalition (EERC) and has been distributed throughout the United States and to several countries worldwide. "Ethanol is the number one fuel commodity transported by rail in our district each year," said David Butt, chairman of Sangamon Valley LEPC. "We want to be certain that on those rare occasions that our men and women are called on to respond to ethanol emergencies, they are fully prepared to tackle the challenges that come with them. Providing this training is part of our committee's effort to ensure they are." "Focusing on emergency measures in the event of an ethanol-related incident is an important part of pre-planning," added Mike Crews, chief of the Taylorville Fire Department. "We are happy to be able to help provide this training to those responsible for the safety of our community so they can be prepared should an incident occur." The Ethanol Safety Seminars focus on numerous aspects of properly responding to an ethanol-related incident, said RFA's Technical Services Manager, Missy Ruff, who noted that "training those who are first on the scene to be able to easily assess the situation and react appropriately is a primary focus of the seminars. To register for the seminars, go to www.rfa.traincaster.com. For more information on ethanol emergency response, visit the EERC website at www.EthanolResponse.com.
