WHY THIS BOOK? WHY THIS BOOK?
Every day in the United States, fire departments or other emergency respon- ders deal with utility emergencies involving natural gas releases. Yet these responders have only limited knowledge of the hazards present in such an emergency. This textbook covers the most common hazards, response issues, and the equipment associated with natural gas transmission and distribution. It will help students be aware of the properties of natural gas, how to recog- nize the dangers, and how to respond safer at a gas emergency. Over the last 20 years, utility emergencies have resulted in more than 25
deaths in the emergency services. These numbers are unacceptable. There must be a conscious effort to reduce firefighter, police officer, and medical responder injury or death. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) inves-
tigates emergency responder fatal occupational accidents. Its goal is to pre- vent occupational fatalities across the nation by identifying and investigating work situations at high risk for injury, and then formulating and disseminat- ing prevention strategies to those who can intervene in the workplace. In addition, for over 20 years, the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA), Center for Disease Control (CDC), International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the United States Fire Administration (USFA) have also been investigating responder deaths. All of their reports, alerts, and studies stress recommenda- tions for preventing future responder injuries and death. These documents have disclosed two central themes:
• There is a serious lack of training for emergency responders about the properties and hazards of utilities.
• There are often inadequate or nonexistent standard operating guide- lines for responding to and operating around utilities.
Training packages on utility safety and response do exist. Many utility com-
panies develop training modules, videos, handouts, and even offer gas demonstrations and live burns. Unfortunately, either the instruction is limited regionally or there are too few instructors to go around. Furthermore, emer- gency response organizations often lack sufficient time and technical knowl- edge to initiate an effective utility training program on their own. This textbook and training program is designed to bring together the gas indus- try’s knowledge with the emergency responders training systems to dissem- inate the information to the widest audience possible. Everyone agrees that awareness and education of responders about the
hazards and problems in natural gas emergencies is one of the best safety practices utility companies can offer. Responders thus trained can evaluate the risks and hazards effectively and, although experience can be a powerful teacher, it is certainly not the best way in such cases as these. The goal of this textbook and supporting training program is to help educate firefighters,
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STREET SMART TIP
The three most popular entry-level training manuals for firefighting devote a full chapter on salvage covers but only offer a few pages on responding to natural gas emergencies.
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