‘Broken Rail’ exercise prepares Town of Coaldale staff for potential disaster
COALDALE – “We have lots of trains that go through town and there’s never [been] an incident, and we all hope that that stays the same, but hope’s not a course of action.”
The comment came from the Town of Coaldale’s director of emergency management, Mark Murphy, as he led exercise ‘Broken Rail’ Thursday, Nov. 9. It simulated the release of a large quantity of dangerous goods into the community due to a train derailment.
Town staff filled a room in the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), where they practiced gathering and processing critical information, and then disseminated it to the public at large and specific institutions such as schools, hospitals and seniors’ centres.
“We want to make sure in Coaldale it’s a great place to live, work and play,” said Murphy. “One of the ways we do that is making sure that public safety is foremost.