
The City of Albany now has a fire boat that carries foam that will be docked at the Port of Albany, a hub for crude oil transports.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and Fire Chief Warren Abriel said they want to be better prepared should an accident happen at the Port.
“We’ll be able to fight fires that are either happening at the port on a vessel or on a train along the river,” Sheehan said at a press conference on Thursday.
After a number of rail car explosions in other parts of the country, the City has been stepping up its efforts to be ready in the event of a disaster.
“We do train for the eventuality of any type of disaster along our rail lines and we have a fire department that stands ready to protect our city and our residents in the event of some type of accident,” Sheehan said.
If a major event were to happen at or near the Port, it’s possible the boat wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near it, “every one of the incidents that have happened recently, the protocol by order of the fire departments that have been involved is to let them burn out, the firefighters can’t get close enough to them to apply any foam,” says Dominick Calsolaro of People of Albany United for Safe Energy (PEACE).
For more information, view www.cbs6albany.com