The Editor,
Re. “Flames, smoke at PoCo CP yard” (The Tri-City News, Jan. 24).
Having experienced a major tanker fire and explosion that killed four people and caused millions in damage, I am relieved that Port Coquitlam was fortunate to escape any major incident this week during the tanker fire in the CP Rail yard.
Following the train derailment in Mississauga that released chlorine, all trains in Canada carrying toxic and flammable materials had to keep them separate and institute other safety measures. Rail yards were exempt from any changes.
This tanker could have exploded if it had not been for the ability of the ethanol to escape and burn due to a sizable rupture. If the tanker had exploded before the other rail tank cars could have been moved, the result would have been vastly different.
The Transport Safety Board and CP Rail will determine the actions that resulted in this collision between the train and tanker. Until then, we need to use this incident as a wakeup call and be aware of the potential and plan accordingly.
My greatest respect goes out to all of the first responders who risked their lives to control this incident.
I do, however, have questions: When a major incident occurs, who looks after the city’s other emergencies — fires, car accidents, medical calls, alarms, etc.? Was mutual aid used to staff our empty fire stations? Did we call in the next shift of firefighters on overtime to backfill our empty fire halls? How long did that take? Did we stop responding to medical calls? With four paid fire departments close to our city and our department (all with hazardous materials capabilities), why were we waiting for foam from a private contractor hired by CP from Abbotsford?
The ability to respond to major incidents would be better if we had a unified, amalgamated fire department in the Tri-Cities, and even beyond. Eliminating duplication could free up millions of dollars, allowing for appropriate full-time, dedicated hazardous materials team with appropriate equipment and supplies.
Municipal elections are this year and we need to support those mayoral and council candidates who will advocate for an amalgamated fire service in the Tri-Cities regardless of the pushback from fire chiefs.
This time, we were lucky.
Geoff Taylor, Port Coquitlam
