Training exercise simulates a train collision near Clinton

First responders got hands-on training through a hypothetical emergency involving a train crash. CTV London's Scott Miller explains.

An impaired teen driver was led away in handcuffs as firefighters and paramedics attended to his two friends who were injured after the car they were travelling in blew a stop sign before slamming into a train, which began leaking liquid petroleum and threatening to explode. That is the scenario facing emergency services crews from across Huron County as part of a mock disaster training exercise near Clinton Thursday morning.

“We have to determine what’s a safe distance to keep our vehicles back, our people back, but yet still respond to the emergency and help the people involved. So, it’s a worst-case scenario, but these are the types of things we need to train for,” said Huron County Const. Craig Soldan.

While this scenario may seem extreme, it isn’t that farfetched. There are nearly 100 railroad crossings in Huron County, and as police have reported, not everyone stops when they cross them.

“We do we do have a lot of crossings. This railway goes all the way over to Goderich, and there are a lot of stop signs. Unfortunately, we see a lot of people disobeying those stop signs. I hope that it never happens, but we really encourage people to follow the signage and make sure they make a complete stop even if they think there’s no train coming,” said Soldan.

While this is their first mock disaster exercise involving a train, these types of training scenarios bring together all levels of Huron County’s extensive emergency services, stretching from Exeter to Wingham.

“The biggest thing we’re trying to work on here with the agencies is unified command. Who’s running the scene, and who’s responsible for what, so we’re not duplicating services and making the same phone calls,” said North Huron Fire Chief and Huron County Fire Coordinator Chad Kregar.

“The goal is to see how everyone responds to this type of thing. Hopefully it never happens, but if it does, we need to be prepared. We’re going to be critiquing it afterwards and looking for ways to improve, if there are any areas that we’re falling short of. But I know we’ve got great teams here, so I’m confident it will go well,” said Soldan.

A section of Kinburn Road, east of Clinton was closed for the training exercise. It has since re-opened.