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Minn. firefighters train for train disasters

At the end of the training, Fire Chief Paul Nemes said he was convinced his department could handle a disaster like rail and oil fires

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BIG LAKE, Minn. — Two dozen firefighters from three Minnesota volunteer departments received special safety training on Thursday from the BNSF railroad. The session was designed to familiarize the firefighters with the equipment on rail tanker cars and how to handle them in an emergency.

Derek Lampkin, BNSF Safety Instructor, demonstrated valves and hatches removed from actual trains and set up in a bay of the Big Lake Fire Department. Volunteers from Big Lake, Monticello and St. Michael attended.

“Pretend we are on top of a rail car right here,” said Lampkin, pulling open a man-hole sized black hatch. “What they have is a ‘man way’ gasket, a soft gasket that will go here or they will have a hard gasket up top right here.”

Full story: MN firefighters train for train disasters

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