NY county to use foam machine to extinguish oil fires

The county is one of 19 municipalities in the state to receive emergency response trailers equipped with a foam substance that firefighters and hazardous materials teams will use to suppress fires caused by oil or other flammable liquids. The Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services procured the trailers for communities located along major rail lines.

Train cars carrying oil produced by fracking in Canada use Canadian Pacific rails in Saratoga Springs and other Saratoga County communities to move oil south to the Port of Albany. The county will base its foam trailer at a fire department in Malta and deploy it to rail emergencies, but also to vehicle accidents involving ignitable substances.

Homeland Security will maintain the trailers and train responders in how to use them. The foam concentrate requires a mix of water in order to be dispersed. When sprayed, it resembles bath soap that forms a blanket over fire. It represents the best technology for fighting crude oil fires, according to Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner John Melville.

In August, a dozen Norfolk Southern rail cars carrying vegetable oil, railway track material and forest products jumped the tracks near the city line. No one was injured, but the accident served as a reminder of the possible dangers of rail travel. A few months later, hundreds of nurses, environmentalists and labor leaders rallied at the Saratoga Springs Amtrak station for greater safety precautions when transporting oil by rail.

Back