500 Washington First Responders Receive Training from BNSF

BNSF Railway announced today that by the end of this week it will have trained 500 Washington first responders and by early October the railroad will surpass its goal of training 600 first responders in community hazmat trainings that are being held throughout the state. The goal will be reached over the course of the next two weeks, with sessions being held this week in Whatcom and Skagit counties and weeklong training kicking off in Seattle on Oct. 6.

The railroad is sending another 142 Washington firefighters to specialized crude-by-rail training at the national railroad research and training facility in Pueblo, Colo. Those classes began in July and continue through the end of the year. Firefighters from several communities, including Burlington, Camano Island, Camas, Cheney, Chehalis, East Wenatchee, Federal Way, Ferndale, Gig Harbor, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Kalama, Kennewick, Kent, Lacey, Lakewood, Mount Vernon, Puyallup, Renton, Ridgefield, Seattle, Sedro-Woolley, Snohomish, Spokane, Stanwood, Tacoma, Woodland and Yelm are participating in the Colorado training. Raw video footage from the three-day training class is available at: http://www.vimeo.com/BNSFRailway/training.

BNSF Railway is underwriting the travel and training expenses for more than 750 first responders across its network for the 2014 training season to help ensure first responders are well-equipped to address the unique characteristics associated with the movement of crude-by-rail. Providing training at the national center is one of the steps the railroad agreed to voluntarily earlier this year in its ongoing efforts to improve the safety of crude-by-rail and to work with communities on emergency preparedness.

For decades BNSF has held the community hazmat training exercises for first responders. On average BNSF trains 3,500 local first responders each year across its network, with 65,000 responders trained since 1996. In Washington from 2004 through the end of 2014, BNSF trained more than 4,000 first responders.

About BNSF

BNSF Railway is one of North America's leading freight transportation companies operating on 32,500 route miles of track in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF is one of the top transporters of consumer goods, grain, and agricultural products, low-sulfur coal and industrial goods such as petroleum, chemicals, housing materials, food and beverages. BNSF's shipments help feed, clothe, supply, and power American homes and businesses every day. BNSF and its employees have developed one of the most technologically advanced, and efficient railroads in the industry. We work continuously to improve the value of the safety, service, energy, and environmental benefits we provide to our customers and the communities we serve. You can learn more about BNSF at www.BNSF.com.