BROOKLINE — All of Brookline’s firefighters are in the process of completing online safety courses that will better prepare them for natural gas and electrical emergencies.
“Natural gas or electric - those are obviously very volatile and dangerous situations for our firefighters,” Brookline Fire Chief John Sullivan said.
Chief Sullivan said he wants all of his firefighters to be confident during every emergency they respond to.
National Grid provides the online safety courses for free.
“The blue lights and the red lights are usually the first ones to respond to any kind of utility incident, so it’s really imperative we help educate them, help them understand how to property respond to any kind of incident and to be safe,” Tim Sullivan, a stakeholder engagement liaison for National Grid, said.
Tim Sullivan said the courses are expected to educate first responders on all kinds of utility emergencies and are always being updated with new material.
“We are constantly evolving the training to keep up with what they’re facing out in the field,” Tim Sullivan said. “We actually just added on the solar panel safety. That’s a new hazard firefighters are facing right now.”
The information provided in the safety courses is meant to guide first responders until representatives from the utility companies arrive at the scene.
Chief Sullivan said last year’s gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley served as a wake-up call, of sorts, for first responders.
“Certainly the incidents in Lawrence and Andover were influential in our wanting to further investigate and making sure we had that information we needed to respond in the event that something similar, God forbid, happen in Brookline,” Chief Sullivan said.
The training can also be key for smaller emergencies as well, such as last week’s manhole explosions in Brookline.
“Whenever there is an explosion in a manhole, we look for the presence of natural gas,” Chief Sullivan said.
Some of the training may be a review for firefighters, but the benefit of this information is that it’s coming directly from the town’s utility providers.
“They deal with this stuff every day, so having them provide us with the training that comes directly from within their organizations is really valuable, so we know we’re getting the information we need straight from the source,” Chief Sullivan said.
Brookline is not alone. For the past two years, Boston Police has required all new recruits to take the training courses.
“This program is really helpful whether you’re a rookie or you’re a veteran,” Tim Sullivan said. “I’ve heard a lot of positive feedback from firefighters and police officers.”
Tim Sullivan said 8,000 first responders have registered for the online courses.
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