Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
CLOVIS — Responder vehicles and HazMat suits would normally be a cause for alarm, but residents should think twice if they see as much during daytime hours on April 20.
The City of Clovis/Curry County Office of Emergency Management, in partnership with BNSF Railway, will conduct a multi-agency drill exercise focused on learning the way around new tools for responding to hazardous material spills.
The training will take place southwest of the Hull Street overpass, near the southbound railroad tracks going towards Portales.
The exercise is six months into the planning but will occur mere weeks after a train accident in Melrose, when a BNSF train collided April 5 with a semi-tractor attempting to cross the tracks in Melrose. There were no fatalities, but 10 cars and two engines were derailed, spilling some grocery cargo.
Officials will focus next Thursday on being prepared for a spillage of more hazardous chemicals, utilizing “the latest gadgets” — courtesy of BNSF, said Clovis Emergency Management Director Dan Heerding.
“We’ll have several high-pressure and low-pressure tank cars leaking and different mechanisms to plug those leaks,” said Heerding. “We want to make sure our folks are up to speed on how to use those.”
Officials from Cannon AFB, BNSF, Clovis Fire Department, Plains Regional Medical Center, Baptist Disaster Relief and state police will be on-site from 8:30 a.m. to 2 or 3 p.m., according to Heerding.
The effort was approved April 6 by the Clovis city commission.
The Emergency Management department tries to stage an annual disaster response exercise. In recent years, the trainings have simulated terrorist incidents and leaking crop dusters, with agencies, such as city police and county Sheriff, assuming a more prominent role said Heerding, adding that this year’s training will be Haz-Mat centric.
“This is for our HazMat folks. This is very specific, to a very specific skillset,” he added. “Not everybody wants to get up in a (HazMat) suit. It can take a lot out of you. It’s not for the claustrophobic.”
Heerding emphasized the training would be an opportunity for experienced responders to keep their skills sharp and newer responders, particularly those at Cannon, to get hands-on experience in advance of a real emergency.
“It’s a win for everybody,” he said.
