A leading provider of Emergency Response Services, RST conducted a staged train derailment exercise on Thursday, May 31 at its Bayshore facility. As key industry and government stakeholders observed, teams executed two separate rail-to-rail transfers, followed by a formal debriefing. 

“We’re known as one of the best in the region for proactive emergency preparedness, and the entire team has worked incredibly hard to earn that level of regard” said Andrew Fisher, General Manager of RST. “This event gives us a chance to reaffirm our commitment to the safety and wellbeing of our communities and the environment.” 

With approximately 30 participants and teams from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, the field test marked the end of RST’s response team training week, as well as its annual Emergency Response Assistance Canada (ERAC) evaluation. 

“This event is an opportunity to bring together a regional team with over 200 years combined experience in emergency response and ultimately strengthens the whole organization,” said Trevor Dickinson, Emergency Response Service Manager at RST. “It's an opportunity to not only test our team, but our equipment, policies and procedures to ensure we’re prepared. Our goal is to work safely and effectively, in partnership with local first responders and authorities, to build relationships that reduce risk and possible impact to the community and environment we live in.”

RST is committed to excellence and operates according to the strictest industry standards to incidents involving hazardous materials, including petroleum, compressed gasses, as well as non-hazardous materials. 

“This is the fourth time I’ve worked with [RST],” said Patrick Knight, Manager of Safety and Quality Assurance for ERAC. “They’re a dedicated organization to emergency response; they’ve maintained their equipment and purchased new equipment to stay cutting edge. Of the 26 teams across the country, there are 13 flammable liquid teams and 13 LPG teams. RST functions in both capacities.”

Key support agencies and observers included: Environment Canada, Transport Canada, Irving Oil, RST, CN Railway, NB Southern Railway, municipal and provincial EMO representatives, law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services. 

Decades of experience in the safe handling of petroleum products and hazardous materials naturally led to the development of RST’s Emergency Response Services, the only certified Atlantic Canadian member of the Canadian Emergency Response Contractors Alliance (CERCA), and Atlantic Canada’s only designated team with membership in Emergency Response Assistance Canada (ERAC) for Liquified Propane Gas and flammable liquids emergency response. In the 21 years since its inception, the RST Response Team has successfully mitigated close to 40 incidents.