Saanich Fire Department trains to put out liquefied natural gas fires

Seeing a fire would have most reach for water to extinguish it, but last week Saanich firefighters received training on how to handle situations where water isn’t the best suppression method.

On April 9 and 10, Saanich firefighters received training on how to deal with incidents involving liquefied natural gas (LNG).

They simulated two scenarios including a tipped-over LNG carrier tank and an underground line break.

“If we had a tanker like this and it tipped over we would most likely spray water on that and we learned that they’re double insulated tanks so the water doesn’t help,” says Saanich Fire’s staff development officer Capt. Noah Elam.

FortisBC joined the exercise at Saanich Fire Hall 3 and provided the props for the two-day training that coincides with April’s Safe Digging Awareness month.

“It’s all about taking the right steps and following the procedures because everything is preventable,” according to Tanya Kowalenko, public safety manager at FortisBC.

“There are gaps in the knowledge on what people do before they put shovel in the ground.”

The BC Common Ground Alliance and its members have designated April as Dig Safe Month in BC aiming to educate and inform on the importance of Click or Call Before You Dig.

Some of the best practices to learn what to do when you plan to dig can be found at digsafe.ca.

BC1 Call says that as summer approaches and construction season goes full throttle, damage incidents and service disruptions can happen and can be avoided by getting a free locate request ticket online 24/7 at bc1c.ca or via phone during regular business hours at 1-800-474-6886.

An online request through bc1c.ca can be done more quickly and conveniently.

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