Communications Lessons Learned Galena, Illinois Train ... · PDF fileCommunications Lessons Learned Galena, Illinois Train Derailment and Fire March 5, 2015 A Celebration of Mr. Murphy

Communications Lessons LearnedGalena, IllinoisTrain Derailment and FireMarch 5, 2015

A Celebration of Mr. Murphy and his Laws.

•Communications is a key element of any response.

• We have put a lot of effort into:• Technology• Training• Exercises• AAR

• We expect things to go as planned when we respond

…Sometimes they don’t

Mr. Murphy and his Law

“Anything That Can Go Wrong? – WILL Go Wrong!”

The Incident

• On March 5, 2015, tank cars of a BNSF train carrying crude oil derailed near Galena, IL.

• A tributary of the Mississippi river• One of the tank cars came to a stop only 20 feet from the water.

• Three of the cars caught fire.

The Incident

• Multi-agency emergency response to mitigate and clean up the scene.

• Law Enforcement, Railroad, Illinois and US EPA, Coast Guard, and several other agencies.

• Requires fast and effective interoperable communications in order to safely coordinate all facets of the response

The Incident

The Incident

•Extremely Fortunate•No Fatalities•No Serious Injuries•Little Property Damage•Small Environmental Effect

The Communications Situation(Murphy Strikes Early!)

• Illinois’ Starcom21 radio system provides 98% mobile - 90% portable radio coverage.

• The incident occurred in a low area in a valley, the terrain shadowed the nearest Starcom21 towers.

• Incident Scene:• Trunked portable radio coverage was nonexistent. • Trunked mobile radio coverage was OK. • Cellular coverage was spotty to say the least.• Fireground in IL is VHF simplex channels


• Incident commend post at the Galena River Park (Directly underneath the US20 bridge.)

• Suffered from the same coverage issues suffered at the incident scene.

• Extensive high ground between the ICP and incident site, making direct (non-repeated) radio communications difficult



Chris Farley

Lesson Learned #1

• Chiefs and their Staffs, Incident Commanders and Command Staff should consider communications requirements when planning their incident response

• If they want to communicate, higher is better.• “…not located in an area that will inhibit effective Comms”

The Communications Situation(Murphy Strikes Often!)

• Starcom21 network is the designated interoperability platform in IL

• Coverage was lacking at the incident scene and ICP, due to the low elevations

• The COML planned to use VHF simplex as a command channel for the incident scene.

• The RC was insistent that Starcom21 be used.

Lesson Learned #2

• Chiefs and Incident Commanders should know the COML’s in their areas.

• They should train and exercise together, and attend the same meetings.

• We want to make sure the commanders know and understand what a COML can do for them

• Their first meeting should not be at 02:00 • Need to Rely on the COML and Comms Unit!



• Early in the response, a Starcom21 Site on Wheels (SOW) was requested for deployment to Galena.

• This should have taken no more than 4-5 hours from the time of the request.

• However, the actual time turned out to be over 24 hours due to a long series of ever-compounding issues:


• The only qualified driver for this vehicle / trailer in Northern Illinois had to be recalled from vacation

• SOW snowed in / iced in• SOW’s on-board diesel generator would not start• A portable generator had to be requested and sent to meet the SOW


• The original site for SOW placement did not have the property owner’s permission, resulting in immediate ejection. Another site was selected after another delay.

• The SOW’s external generator connection on the SOW was damaged.

• Satellite aiming errors. • Once the SOW went into operation, it provided good coverage to both the Command Post area and the Incident scene.

Lesson Learned #3

• Carry out routine maintenance on your deployable assets.

• Account for human nature


• The portable generator requires shut-down for refueling and maintenance every 24 hours of operation.

• The generator was refueled and restarted without incident. • The satellite modem did not resume the backhaul link upon power-up. Four hour outage for a technician to reprogram the link.

Lesson Learned #4

• Keep the equipment experts at the incident, don’t let them get away!

• If something goes wrong, their knowledge is critical


• When the satellite modem is shut down, it powers back up in a minimum power mode.

• Prevents accidental interference to other satellite users.

Lesson Learned #5

• Perform realistic training on your assets

• Try to break it during training, see what causes problems.


• There was only one COML at the incident.• Other than RADO’s, no other COMMS positions were filled.• The workload was overwhelming, especially initially.• Having a second COML for planning input.• Minor problems recovering cache radios

Lesson Learned #6

• Know when to change direction (HARD to do.)

• Don’t be afraid to ask for more help.

• ADAPT!

Emergency vs. Construction

• Emergency Communications• Response• Safety of Lives and Property• All responders that needed a radio got one.

• Construction Communications• Private company• Directing Workers & Equipment• Railroad or Business Band

Things Did Go Right

• Simplex Fireground• Cellular carriers corrected coverage issues quickly (BDA at the bridge)

• The SOW filled the coverage gap• Excellent Cooperation

Action Items

• Develop Comms Teams for deployment • Independent calculation of satellite azimuth• UPS for satellite modems• Improving our inspection process• Outreach and Education for Chiefs, I/C’s and others

• Mobile Radio Caches

Lessons Learned:

• Communications, Cooperation, Coordination • You only get what you Inspect, not what you Expect• Customer Relations• Realistic Training is KEY!

• (Break it if you can!)• Honest Communications - Focused After Action Report(AAR)

Thank You!

“Anything That Can Go Wrong? – WILL Go Wrong!”

Documents

Communications Lessons Learned Galena, Illinois Train ... · PDF fileCommunications Lessons Learned Galena, Illinois Train Derailment and Fire March 5, 2015 A Celebration of Mr. Murphy