[Officers] New CSB Safety Video, 'Half an Hour to Tragedy, ' Highlights Training Needs

[BJLamb at aol.com]

If you visit this site, you will also see several other videos produced by  
CSB.  Might be a couple good training topics here.
 
BJ
 
 
 
 
New CSB Safety Video, 'Half an Hour to Tragedy,' Highlights Training  Needs
for Propane Emergencies

Washington, DC, October 9, 2008 - The  U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today
released a new 23-minute
<_http://www.csb.http://wwwhttp://www.http://www.cs&<WBR>page&<WBR>NEWS_I_ 
(http://www.csb.gov/index.cfm?folder=news_releases&page=news&NEWS_ID=447) >
safety  video, "Half an Hour to Tragedy," based on the deadly propane gas
explosion  at the Little General convenience store in Ghent, West Virginia,
in January  2007. 

The CSB's final written report on the tragedy, which killed two  emergency
responders and two propane technicians, was approved at a public  meeting in
Beckley, West Virginia, on September 25. 

The title of the  video refers to the nearly thirty minutes that elapsed
between the beginning  of the propane release and the moment of the
explosion. During that period,  no evacuation occurred, and volunteer
firefighters and others entered the  flammable propane cloud. 

The new video can be viewed on the CSB's video  site,
<_http://www.safetyvihttp://ww_ (http://www.safetyvideos.gov/) >  
safetyvideos.  safetyvideos.<WBR>gov, as
YouTube channel, <_http://www.youtube.http://ww_ 
(http://www.youtube.com/uscsb) >  youtube.com/  youtube.com/
copies will become available within the next  several weeks and can be
pre-ordered by clicking on "Request DVD" on the  Board's website, CSB.gov. 

The video includes a seven-minute, 3-D  computer animation showing how a
defective valve on a 500-gallon propane  storage tank shot propane directly
into the store building through attic  vents, during what was to supposed to
have been a routine change of propane  service provider. 

"This video shows how a number of factors - a tank  placed too close to the
building, a lack of necessary training for propane  technicians, and a lack
of awareness among technicians and responders to  order an immediate
evacuation - combined to take the lives of four people,"  said John Bresland,
CSB chairman and CEO. "Across the United States,  firefighters are responding
to propane emergencies almost every day. Training  and preparedness are the
keys to preventing tragic accidents like the one in  West Virginia last
year," Mr. Bresland said. 

West Virginia State Fire  Marshal Sterling Lewis, Jr., is featured in the
video, along with CSB  investigators Robert Hall, P.E., and Jeffrey Wanko,
P.E., C.S.P. 

"Our  hope is that fire departments and propane companies throughout the
nation  will view this video and study the Board's findings  and
recommendations,recommendations,<WBR>" said Mr. Wanko. "The information in 
lives in case of a propane emergency." 

The Board recommended  mandatory training for propane technicians using
improved training materials,  regular hazardous materials training and drills
for responders, and new  propane release guidance for 911 emergency
operators. 

The CSB is an  independent federal agency charged with investigating
industrial chemical  accidents. The agency's board members are appointed by
the president and  confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all
aspects of chemical  accidents, including physical causes such as equipment
failure as well as  inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and
safety management  systems. 

The Board does not issue citations or fines but does make  safety
recommendations to companies, industry organizations, labor groups,  and
regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA. Please visit our  website,
www.csb.gov 


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