The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/591447
32 NOVEMBER 2015 FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com Shane Sweet OPERATIONAL INSIGHT l F O N I n September propane industry folks from the Northeast region joined members of the fire services community at annual propane emergencies training, a.k.a. Emergency Response Training. In New York State, over 50 members of the propane industry and firefighters spent three days in close-quarter classroom and field training at the New York State Fire Academy in Montour Falls, N.Y. The event was sponsored by the New York Propane Gas Association using funding from the Propane Education & Research Council to cover expenses associated with the event's production. The Montour Falls event is a continuing joint project of the NYPGA and the Fire Academy and is now in its 8th year. In addition to the major event at Montour, during the year classes are conducted at numerous fire stations in New York State using industry personnel as instructors. Propane for "live fire" and other "handling" during these events is purchased from local propane retailers. One goal in New York is to systematically reach as many fire companies as possible each year, and to repeat training to bring new personnel up to speed. For the live fire portions of the program, the proj- ect commits to adherence with NFPA 1403--Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions. This includes instructor qualifications and mandates "all instruc- tors shall be qualified to deliver fire fighter training according to the authority having jurisdiction." All live fire training requires that participants have a certificate of insurance, as well as a state- ment from the fire academy that releases NYPGA or other entities from liability. At Montour Falls, instructors from the New York Propane Gas Association's Emergency Response Committee covered the following curricula: Standards, codes, and regulations Physical & chemical properties of propane Non-bulk & bulk containers Bulk transportation design and section Bulk plants & storage tanks Propane emergencies DVD and review of general standard operating procedures General emergency response procedures Outside of the actual classroom, participants, depending on their qualifications (firefighters or not), either participated in or observed: Safety briefing for hands-on training and live fire evolutions Flaring of propane as a method to draw down a tank, bobtail or tanker Capping plugging and patching of live fire tanks Actual knock down of a burning propane vessel (only qualified individuals in full gear) The third day at Montour featured a "Three- Year Refresher Course" including: General emergency response procedures Tactical response guidelines for propane emergencies Product removal, transfer and recovery operations, water injection, refrigeration, USTS and difficult transfers, and the viewing of an instructional video Field transfers field exercises Patching & plugging & capping New York's ongoing program not only reaches new first responders but retrains past enrollees, and provides for a close working relationship between fire safety personnel and propane marketers. If you have not participated in Emergency Response Training like this, sign up in your state to go at your next opportunity. You won't be dis- appointed. To see videos and images from the September 2015 training at Montour Falls, go to www.nypro pane.com Propane Emergency Responder Training BIO: Shane Sweet is an energy and management consultant with clients in the heating oil, propane and motor fuel sec- tors, a Partner with the firm of Lake Rudd & Company. As of Nov. 1, 2014, he is the new executive director and technical director for the New York Propane Gas Association. He served the industry as President & CEO of the New England Fuel Institute "NEFI" from 2007 to 2011, and as Executive VP/Director and Lobbyist for the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association "VFDA" from 1993 to 2007. CONTACT: He lives in Shaftsbury, Vt., and may be reached at shanemsweet@gmail.com or 802-558-6101 cell/text. Suggestions by readers for future column content, as well as general comments are welcome. http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ shane-sweet/7/a52/701 NYPGA First Responders train on a live propane fire in September