Community Corner
Summit Squad Captain Participates in State Rail Safety Plan
The Rail Safety Plan was developed to address safety issues associated with rail traffic throughout the state in the event of emergencies.
There are over 300 rail stations in New Jersey, with 41 cities, including Summit, shuttling more than 500,000 passengers a year. Keeping the railways safe and secure in emergency situations can be a formidable task.
The Rail Safety Plan was developed to address safety issues associated with rail traffic throughout the state in the event of emergencies.
The idea for the plan took hold just after 911 after the New Jersey State EMS task force was established. The first stage of the plan incorporated a Port Security Plan to address various ports in New Jersey. The Rail Plan was developed later, and incorporated the participation of over 60 local, state, and government agencies.
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New Jersey is the first in the country to have a state wide Port Security and Rail Safety Plan.
Kari Phair, Captain of the Summit Volunteer First Aid Squad and member of the NJ EMS task force, took on the task of developing the Rail Safety Plan for the city of Summit.
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“Trains have a lot of complexities that can be quite hazardous to emergency responders, explained Phair. “We had to consider triage and treatment areas, how to shut power down, how to look for hazards on the tracks, how to locate emergency exits, just to name a few.”
The Rail Safety Plan was completed in March 2011, with an official signing by plan contributors in early September. The 1,200 page document consists of emergency plans for 41 individual communities, including Summit, and took over 10,000 hours to complete.
Part of the plan was put into place in May when a train jumped the tracks in Hoboken.
