Local firefighters to receive oil spill response training

SWAMPSCOTT- Several North Shore communities will be participating in ocean spill response training on June 30.Swampscott Fire Chief Michael Champion said Swampscott, Nahant and Marblehead would be training in how to use “spill trailers.””All three departments have this equipment but haven’t been trained to use it,” Champion said. “The fire departments will be doing classroom work followed by water deployment. Marblehead is hosting us.”The trailer contains equipment that can be deployed quickly by local emergency response officials in case of an oil spill in the ocean. Each trailer, which costs $32,000, is 20 feet long by eight feet wide and is divided into three storage compartments containing varying sizes and types of containment and absorbent boom, oil absorbent pads, speedy dry, inflatable bladders, portable generator, an electric air compressor, anchors, anchor chains, buoys, tools and personal safety equipment.Nahant Acting Fire Chief Edward Hyde said his department sent three firefighters to training offered by the state last year and the department would be participating in the joint training exercise as well.”As a coastal community it is important to be prepared to respond in the event of an oil spill,” Hyde said. “We are ready to deploy equipment and personnel in the event of an emergency.”Capt. John Healey, who is commander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Boston, said the partnership with local communities is invaluable in spill response.”The Coast Guard works closely with many port partners, including MassDEP and local harbormasters, to prevent oil from getting into our harbors,” he said. “If there is a spill, it is critical to immediately deploy equipment to protect the public, the environment and the economic viability of our waterways. This partnership between the Coast Guard, MassDEP and local communities is a great example of how we are all working together towards the same goal.”The trailer deployment was a key part of the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act of 2004, legislation crafted in response to the April 2003 oil spill that dumped approximately 98,000 gallons of industrial fuel oil into Buzzards Bay after a tank barge struck a rocky outcropping. The spill polluted more than 100 miles of coastline, left 178,000 acres of shellfish beds closed for months and killed hundreds of shore birds.In June 2005, the initial round of 14 marine spill response trailers were delivered to the Buzzards Bay region and the state currently has spill trailers at approximately 80 coastal locations around the state including Chelsea, Danvers, Everett, Lynn, Peabody, Revere and Saugus.The funding to purchase and distribute these trailers and the equipment comes from the Oil Spill Act Trust Fund, which receives funding from a per-barrel fee on petroleum products.