ERAC
Q2 Newsletter
Volume IV Issue II
June 2016

Message from ERAC President,  
Spencer Buckland 
       
Fort McMurray activation.  

The Fort McMurray wildfires have had an impact on Response Teams and Plan Participants across Canada. Whether directly affected or not, emergency response crises cause us to pause and reflect on how organizations are prepared and how important it is to have trained, assessed and approved Response Teams ready and on hand, in times of crisis.
 
ERAC provides safe, timely, effective, sustainable, cost effective flammable liquids and gas emergency preparedness and response assistance... 
In This Issue
Training & Events

SAVE THE DATE! ERAC Eastern full-scale Live-Transfer Exercise in conjunction with CN, located in the Greater Toronto Area, September 15, 2016.
 
SAVE THE DATE! ERAC Industrial Firefighting Training has been re-scheduled for August 16 & 17, 2016 in Vermilion, AB at the Lakeland College Emergency Training Centre. Plan Participants, municipal fire departments, ERAC Responders and other industry & regulatory stakeholders will be invited to attend day two of the training as observers.
 
ERAC Update for Plan Participants - June 13 webinar recording, click here
 
ERAC Update for Responders - June 13 webinar recording, click here
 
Annual two-day training and assessment of LPG and Flammable Liquids Response Teams
ERAC requires annual mandatory two-day training and assessment sessions for all LPG and Flammable Liquids Response Teams. This year our teams have trained in:
- St. Thomas Ontario at Dowler-Karn
- Ernestown Ontario at Gibson Gas Liquids
- Valleyfield Quebec at Pro Transfert
- Edmonton Alberta at the Keyera Diluent Terminal and the CP rail yard
- Saint John New Brunswick at the RST Bayshore facility
- Surrey BC at the Canwest rail facility
- Winnipeg Manitoba at the CN rail yard
- Richmond British Columbia at the CN rail yard
- Kamloops British Columbia at the CN rail yard
 
Training locations with rail, truck and stationary tanks are important in helping ensure our responders are ready for any incident. The Remedial Measures Advisors, Technical Advisors and Response Teams thank these companies for stepping forward. Their onsite employees share their experience and knowledge with ERAC responders and also learn from our responders.
 
Searching for Winnipeg LPG rail training venue
ERAC is currently looking for a training venue in the Winnipeg area with LPG rail installations where the Manitoba Response Team can practice for one day this fall. Please contact Don Merriam (don.merriam@erac.org), if you can help in any way. This is a great opportunity to meet the responders and witness the work they can do for you in the event of an emergency.
Fort McMurray wild fires serve as a wake-up call
By Don Merriam, Operations Manager, LPG  

Fort McMurray activation.
The recent LPG response team activation to Fort McMurray served as a lesson and a wake-up call in planning and preparation for the worst. This was the second year in a row where large forest fires have threatened or destroyed propane storage facilities. With little information available from the site, the Response Team had to be self-sufficient, as no lodging, food, water or electricity was available. Cell phone service was unknown, so a satellite phone was used as communications backup.

Safety was out major concern in Fort McMurray as the work area was strewn with unidentifiable cylinders and canisters both full and empty, with no markings left due to the heat. It was a perfect example that the containers being worked on were not... Read more
 
Full-scale live-transfer training exercise helps prepare for crisis like Fort McMurray
By Patrick Knight, Operations Manager, Flammable Liquids 

Live-transfer rail emergency exercise, CP Strathcona rail yard, Edmonton, AB.

On May 19, Emergency Response Assistance Canada (ERAC), in conjunction with Canadian Pacific (CP), conducted a rail emergency exercise as part of ongoing ERAC responder training in the event of an incident involving a rail car carrying flammable liquids or gas. ERAC's ongoing training events are critical to preparing for crisis like the wild fires in Fort McMurray.
 
ERAC Response Teams, Technical Advisors and Remedial Measures Advisors from across Alberta participated in this full-scale hands-on training exercise involving three simultaneous controlled transfers of flammable product from rail cars. This event ... Read more   
SafetySync compliance required for regional training
By Cheryl Dahlager, Manager, Process Services 


ERAC requires that 75% of team members must be 100% compliant in SafetySync in order to participate in ERAC regional training. ERAC added three additional training requirements in January (Canadian National eRail Safe/Canadian Pacific eRail Safe and TDG Certification). Currently, the compliance for the three new training requirements added in January is only 57%. Responders are reminded to upload your certificates to SafetySync to ensure you are compliant.
 
When responding to an incident, 75% of those responders must be 100% compliant in SafetySync and the remaining 25% of responders cannot ... Read more 
ERAC trains firefighters for situations like Fort McMurray
By Ken McMullen, Manager, Safety & Quality Improvement  

Fort McMurray activation.
Fort McMurray and the aftereffects of the worst wildfire in Canadian history are on the minds of all who work in the emergency response business. ERAC is in the process of providing training to industrial and municipal fire services across Canada in relation to LPG and Flammable Liquid firefighting.

Working in concert with the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs (OAFC), ERAC works to ensure that Canada's firefighters know how to respond, what equipment and materials to use and what actions to take in the event that they face a situation related to LPG and Flammable Liquids incidents.
 
At Fort McMurray, a significant number of propane tanks, cylinders and LPG fueled motor ... Read more   
ERAC Key Performance Indicators
ERAC's Average Arrival Time by Type of Responder
2011-2016 

 

ERAC's Number of Incidents by Container Type
2011-2016

 

ERAC's Number of Notifications (non-activated)
by Container Type
2013-2016 

 

2016 ERAC
Operating Budget