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LEPC stages anhydrous ammonia exercise at Rutland City Arctic Ice facility; plan updated
Summary
The Local Emergency Planning Committee ran a three-hour anhydrous ammonia leak exercise at the Arctic Ice facility in Rutland City and updated the facility emergency plan; officials said the local fire department remains incident commander in hazmat responses.
Bob Merlino, chair of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), told the Rutland County Regional Emergency Management Committee (REMC) that the LEPC ran a hazardous-materials exercise this past weekend at the Arctic Ice facility in Rutland City to practice response to an anhydrous ammonia leak.
Merlino said the team spent about three hours on the exercise and also reviewed and revised the facility’s emergency plan. “We were there for about 3 hours, and we exercised an anhydrous ammonia leak there,” Merlino said. He added that the facility got a more updated emergency plan after the review and that he would share the plan with Rutland City fire personnel.
The hazardous-materials response team used the event to test both the facility’s plan and the team’s operations with the site. Merlino emphasized how local command is structured during such incidents: the local fire department remains the incident commander and continues in that role after the hazardous-materials team arrives. “The hazmat team does not take over the incident command. That still is maintained by the local fire department,” Merlino said.
Merlino said the exercise is one of a number the state hazardous-materials response team runs annually at facilities that use anhydrous ammonia as a refrigerant. He also noted that not all invited local departments were able to attend this session: the local fire department was invited because they would be the first on scene, but Merlino said they were not present for this exercise and reiterated the value of including local first responders so they can practice how the team would integrate with an on-scene incident commander.
Merlino said the LEPC previously approved the state LEPC emergency plan at its July 15 meeting and that the plan will go to the state Emergency Response Committee (CERC) for final approval. He also noted an upcoming exercise at another facility that uses anhydrous ammonia.
The REMC meeting transcript shows attendees asked whether local fire crews had participated; Merlino confirmed they had been invited and offered to forward the updated facility plan to the Rutland City Fire Department.
Officials did not announce any regulatory or funding actions tied to the exercise during the REMC meeting.
