CP unveils hazmat website

Canadian Pacific on Sept. 26 unveiled a new webpage, cpr.ca/HazMat, which showcases CP's dangerous goods response capabilities, training available to first responders and other online resources.

“CP is proud of the relationships we have with first responders and communities, and we take our role in ensuring fire departments have the training they require extremely seriously,” said Glen Wilson, CP Assistant Vice-President Environmental Risk. “While incidents involving a release of a dangerous goods product are extremely rare, we are committed to preparedness and response in those instances.”

CP has Hazardous Materials Officers located across its network. CP’s emergency response capabilities include firefighting trailers, transfer trailers, boom containers and emergency response posts located across CP’s network. These resources, along with a 24/7 emergency response contractor network, provide additional resources and personnel to provide response and allow the railway to provide mutual aid to other industrial partners when needed.

Under the common carrier obligation, CP is required to move products considered dangerous goods, or called hazardous materials in the U.S., provided they meet federal standards.

“For the past 10 years, CP has been the safest railway in North America according to FRA train accident frequency,” Wilson said. “While rail is the safest way to move dangerous goods over land, CP believes it’s essential that we are prepared to respond effectively to dangerous goods incidents. In the past five years, CP has trained over 20,000 emergency responders on HazMat response through our emergency training exercises.”

CP offers training on railway incident emergency response for local emergency responders through hands-on and online training. The website lists all of the available training and training resources available to agencies as well as training available from industry partners.

“We have enjoyed a close working relationship with CP,” said Paul Boissonneault, President of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, speaking from the group’s annual conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland. “CP’s commitment to training and preparedness is appreciated by the fire fighters and communities across Canada and we thank them for their support.”