County Simulates Train Derailment

HAZ-MAT DRILL – Hazardous Materials Team Members decon other firefighters after they left the railcar involved in the drill held in Gaviota.

A multitude of emergency crews arrived at train tracks near Gaviota on Thursday in a training exercise to simulate a chlorine spill from a railcar. The pretend train derailment tested the readiness of the Incident Management Team and the county Emergency Operations Center. It included mass casualties, but only a simulacrum, said Santa Barbara County spokesperson Gina DePinto; no volunteers or actual triage took place. Teams totaling 150 individuals from Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo included law enforcement and fire agencies, Red Cross, Union Pacific Railroad, Santa Barbara Unified School District, and Air Pollution Control.