There are 65,288 miles of gas pipeline, 1,762 miles of liquid pipeline, and seventy-nine tanks containing either crude oil or refined petroleum products in Alabama. In the past 10 years there have been sixty-seven pipeline incidents in Alabama.
There are approximately 2,350 fire departments, four hundred of those departments are in underserved counties. There are over 30,000 firefighters. Only 7,000 of those firefighters are full-time.
Previously, the only consistent pipeline emergency training offered to emergency responders consisted of group meetings that provided general information about natural gas and liquid products, pipeline awareness, and basic steps to respond to pipeline emergencies. The responders who attended the meetings were typically from the departments in the location where the meetings were held and a few of the management level personnel from the surrounding areas. Generally, when pipeline operators met with emergency officials, they were working with management level personnel. Very little training or information was given to the “boots on the ground” responders.
In response, the Alabama Pipeline Emergency Response Initiative (APERI) was founded by a partnership between emergency responders and pipeline operators to address the gap in training for responding emergency personnel. It was created to advance the ability of Alabama first responders to recognize, manage and mitigate a pipeline incident through improved training and communication in cooperation with pipeline and distribution operators. The training provides detailed education and mitigation techniques for all public safety disciplines with the intention of reaching all personnel within a department or agency to ensure that those who respond to a pipeline emergency or gas leak are aware and prepared to respond. APERI training is also included in firefighter recruit school training modules. It is the aim of the APERI board to concentrate training in the High Consequence areas, counties with pipelines, and eventually to all areas that might be called upon to respond as mutual aid to those areas.
The APERI program is operated by a board of seven members that represent emergency responders and operators, and an advisory board that includes Alabama 811, Alabama Public Service Commission, Alabama Natural Gas Association, Pipeline Hazardous Materials Administration, transmission and distribution operators, and APERI members. Since the inception of APERI, AFC has been a valuable partner. APERI instructors are adjunct instructors for the Alabama Fire College and hold certifications as Fire Instructors. This partnership allows APERI to reach a broader fire service audience throughout the state of Alabama. Learn more at www.alabamafirecollege.org/aperi.
APERI offers its program for basic firefighter school as part of the Hazardous Materials/WMD Awareness and Operations education to expose entry level firefighters to an introduction to enhanced pipeline emergency response training. Also, through AFC’s Workplace Safety Training program, the curriculum is incorporated into the State’s Hazardous Materials/WMD Awareness and Operations curriculum as a resource for the required materials. We have also partnered with the Alabama Police Officers Standards and Training Commission to deliver the APERI program in Alabama police academies. This broad stroke of entry level first responders will further the strengthen the relationships and communication between emergency responders and pipeline operators. Our newest partnership is with Alabama 811 and Alabama Prevention Awareness Cooperative Training (APACT). APERI instructors present the Response portion of the APACT meeting.
We value our relationships with the transmission and distribution pipeline operators in Alabama. We currently have eighteen operators in partnership with us that benefit from the marketing, documentation, and the Federal Education and Liaison Requirements of 49 CFR 192.615/616 and 49 CFR 195.403/440 of the program. Under the direction of Program Manager Don Williamson, APERI has presented this valuable training to over 1,600 first responders with over four hundred agencies.
Guest contributor:
Don Williamson, APERI Program Manager
www.alabamafirecollege.org/aperi