Recently, Alliance firefighters along with mutual aid departments from Bayard, Bridgeport, Chadron, Hemingford, and Rushville participated in a natural gas safety training put on by Black Hills Energy.
“Our training provides a unique opportunity for hands-on experience and instruction,” said Christina Trout, Black Hills Energy operations supervisor for the Alliance area.
The training included the use of techniques for effectively containing and extinguishing natural gas fires with the latest materials for portable fire extinguishers and hose streams under controlled circumstances. In one exercise, firefighters used a fire hose and chemical extinguishers to put out a controlled natural gas fire under a scrapped vehicle, simulating a potential result of a car hitting a gas meter. In another scenario, firefighters practiced how to safely contain and extinguish a natural gas fire from pipeline puncture.
35 firefighters in total received this invaluable training, which is offered each year in a different location in Nebraska to volunteer fire departments throughout the 319 Nebraska communities Black Hills Energy serves.
(Courtesy Photos)