Saint John rail safety requires more resources, fire chief says

Saint John's fire chief says additional equipment, resources and training are needed to deal with a potential rail or fuel fire emergency.

And Kevin Clifford, who also heads up Saint John's Emergency Measures Organization, contends the costs for emergency services should not be borne by the city alone since the entire country benefits from local energy projects.

"There should be equipment, there should be assets, there should be procedures and policies and there should be training. And those pieces should not be downloaded onto municipalities," Clifford said during a presentation on rail safety to Saint John common council on Tuesday night.

Coun. Donna Reardon believes industry should step up to help cover costs.

It just doesn't seem fair to download those costs onto the citizens through a tax rate while you have big  business riding into your town, you know, with dangerous goods.- Coun. Donna Reardon

"I don't know what it would be. I don't know if it's making a contribution to the fire department or the EMO. I don't know what it is. But it just seems like if I am increasing the risk of the citizens, then I should have some responsibility in mitigating that risk as well," she said.

"It just doesn't seem fair to download those costs onto the citizens through a tax rate while you have big  business riding into your town, you know, with dangerous goods."

Citizens asking questions about preparedness

Clifford said the July 2013 derailment and explosion in Lac-Mégantic, Que., that killed 47 people, "has been a harsh reminder that more needs to be done to support the emergency response infrastructure that is required to support responsible movement of dangerous goods by rail and roads."

The Lac-Mégantic tragedy has resonated with many Saint John citizens, particularly since the crude cargo was destined for the Irving Oil refinery on the city's east side, he said.

"To this end, our community has posed numerous questions on issues with respect to the movement, storage and processing of dangerous goods in our city."

Saint John's emergency service is prepared to for a major incident involving fire and explosion, said Clifford.

However, the city needs to have access to a better process for sustaining its flammable fuel fire capability, he said, noting that in a fuel fire disaster, the local fire department is usually on its own for the first 15 hours.

In addition, "like many Canadian fire services, the local response service struggles to sustain the technical and specialized training that is required to appropriately respond to flammable fuel fires of a significant size," said Clifford.

City has increased risk

The city already has a higher degree of risk than most cities, he said, citing the density of older housing stock, the large geographical area, and the industrial footprint, which includes an oil refinery, LNG facility, a major gas pipeline through the heart of the city, and a power generating station.

And with more energy projects potentially on the way, such as the proposed Energy East crude oil pipeline and a crude oil export terminal at Canaport, the city needs to be "diligent," said Clifford.

"It is imperative that emergency planning, preparedness and response capability is aligned to the risk in the community," he said.