Still, Moore says the RFA recognizes the ethanol industry needs to work better with firefighters to protect their communities. "We've identified this as a shortcoming, so what the RFA is doing is funding a [firefighting] foam test and we've produced a video on fighting ethanol fires. We are working through the International Association of Fire Chiefs to do this."

The RFA is also working to get firefighter training academies to include ethanol in their training programs, Moore says. "One example is the University of Illinois, they realized they don't cover ethanol except in a broad stroke sort of way," she says. "Now they are adding an ethanol firefighting component to their firefighter and first-responder training."

Protecting Plants
Ethanol producers take safety precautions seriously, Moore says. The RFA recommends that ethanol plants have at least one safety professional on staff. Most plants are also equipped with firefighting equipment designed for alcohol blazes, and workers are regularly trained to use that equipment. "The folks who work at ethanol plants have a great depth of training on flammables," she says. "But plants need to make sure to do more than just annual training. They need to make sure the training is hands-on so the workers know how to use those fire systems in the case of an incident."

Regular training is important because in the case of an incident there's no time for nerves and fumbling with equipment. "Most folks have the regular training but it is always a good reminder that when there is an incident, the heart rate goes up, you get into the "fight or flight" mode so you want that training to become second nature," Moore says.

The RFA wants to work with all state fire marshal offices and make the necessary information available to emergency service agencies. "We want to see what we can assist with in some of that first-responder training," Moore says. "Any solicitation from those agencies for our assistance would be just great."

The RFA produced a video called "Responding to Ethanol Incidents," which is available to ethanol producers, emergency service agencies and the public at no charge. It can also be viewed on the RFA Web site. "We are going to supply a couple of copies to our producer members, one for their own use and one so they can go to their local fire department and start the conversation: 'Here is some information on ethanol fires. How can we build a good response team in the event that we need it?'"

The video emphasizes the differences between battling ethanol and petroleum fires. "The video quotes that even with 500 percent dilution of ethanol with water the product is still flammable," Moore says. "It talks about how to select the correct foam when fighting a fire and how to apply the foam in a couple of situations."

Moving On
There is another issue for first responders and other emergency workers, Moore says. Along with the concerns about safety at ethanol plants, hundreds of millions of gallons are shipped to markets by truck and rail. "There is so much ethanol being transported through communities as compared to five years ago," she says. "A lot of that is going through communities that aren't aware. In general, our Midwest folks seem to be pretty knowledgeable about ethanol and handling emergencies, but there needs to be a more thorough process of getting our first-responder folks caught up."

An incident in Maryland was the catalyst for the RFA to increase its emphasis on safety and educating firefighters on the best way to extinguish ethanol fires. A tanker truck carrying ethanol drove off the road and caught fire, Moore says. "The first two fire departments didn't have the correct foam," she says. "They had to go to the county fire department that had the correct foam and were then able to put out the fire almost immediately. That was an eye-opener for the RFA, and it validated our thoughts that we had to get out in front on this issue."

The transportation industry has a good safety record, but it only takes a single incident to tarnish that record. "[For petroleum] the safety record is that well over 99 percent of the time there is no incident,” Moore says.” But that's not what we prepare for in the emergency situation. We don't prepare for the 99 percent of the time, we prepare for the one chance that we aren't going to get it right."

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