Emergency response is at the fingertips of crews working to keep people safe and de-escalate a situation like the hazardous fuel fire that sent thick, black smoke into the air above Pennsauken, New Jersey.
A smartphone app called Cargo Decoder gives responders access to the most recent Emergency Response Guidebook information for the certain type of fuel on fire, said Fayette County, West Virginia fire coordinator Joe Crist.
Crist has spent the last week responding to a massive train derailment fire and explosion along the Kanawaha River in West Virginia that continued to keep people from their homes seven days later.
Crist said that the guidelines responders in West Virginia used would likely be different in New Jersey since the type of fuel burning and the container are different but he said the app helps guide responders no matter the mess by deciphering tanker markings.
“Once you punch it up it gives you a guide to go by,” said Crist.
The federal guidelines help responders through the first 30 minutes of response including decisions like evacuation radius (which can range up to a mile) that changes depending on weather conditions and time of day, said Crist.
While firefighters worked to fully extinguish the flames along the Route 90 on-ramp to U.S. Route 130 in Pennsauken, New Jersey, they would have air monitoring in place to determine the public’s safety. It would also help in determining the foam to use to extinguish the flames.
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Once the fire was out, that air monitoring would continue to ensure that conditions are safe for residents to return to their homes.
"The air must be safe," said Crist.
Only minor injuries were reported in the Pennsauken wreck.
