The first seminar will be held on Wednesday, April 24th at the American Red Cross in Akron.

(April 18, 2013) WASHINGTON — The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway will co-host two Ethanol Safety Seminars in Ohio under a Federal Railroad Administration grant that the RFA received last fall. The first seminar will be held on Wednesday, April 24th at the American Red Cross in Akron. The second seminar will be held in Canton on Thursday, April 25th in the auditorium of the Canton Township Training Center.

Both seminars are free and feature a morning session from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and an evening session from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Lunch and dinner will be provided. The seminars are designed for individuals who will respond to ethanol-related emergencies as well as those who work at fixed-facilities and transport fuel.

The goal of these seminars is for attendees to gain full ethanol emergency response training experience that they can put to use immediately in the field as well as pass along to other first response teams. A majority of this training is based on the Complete Training Guide to Ethanol Emergency Response, a training package created by the Ethanol Emergency Response Coalition (EERC) that has been distributed throughout the United States and to several countries worldwide.

"The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway takes pride in its commitment to safety; not only to its employees but also to the folks of the cities and towns that we travel through," said John Vergis, Assistant Environmental Officer at Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway. "Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway is a big supporter of Emergency Responder training events, and as a transporter of ethanol, would like to reach out to as many first responders as possible so that they can better prepare themselves in the event of an incident involving ethanol. The Wheeling & Lake Erie would like to thank the Renewable Fuels Association, the Ethanol Emergency Response Coalition, the Federal Railroad Administration and TRANSCAER® for helping make this event possible."

Attendees will receive in-depth information on proper training techniques that first responders and hazmat personnel need to effectively respond to an ethanol-related emergency. While primarily targeting first responders, hazmat teams, safety managers, and local emergency planning committees, it is also open to the general public.

"Ethanol accounts for 10 percent of our nation's fuel supply, blended into 97 percent of gasoline across the country," said Kristy Moore, RFA Vice President of Technical Services. "With this high volume of blended fuel traveling through communities, it is essential that first responders are as fully prepared as possible to act immediately in the unfortunate event of an ethanol emergency. Safety will always be a priority in the ethanol industry and we are thrilled to be able to offer this type of training."

The Ethanol Safety Seminar focuses on numerous important areas of ethanol safety including an introduction to ethanol and ethanol-blended fuels, chemical and physical characteristics of ethanol and hydrocarbon fuels, transportation and transfer of ethanol-blended fuels, storage and dispensing locations, firefighting foam principles and ethanol-blended fuel, health and safety considerations for ethanol-blended fuel emergencies and tank farm and bulk storage fire incidents. Certificates will be awarded by the Ohio Fire Academy at the completion of the course.

To register for this seminar, go to www.rfa.traincaster.com.

The RFA will be co-hosting Ethanol Safety Seminars throughout 2013. Scheduled seminar locations include: Troy, Mich., on May 9th; Grand Island, Neb., on June 12th; Columbus, Neb., on June 13th; Salem, Ore., on June 18th and 19th; and a state-wide tour of California throughout July.

For more information on ethanol emergency response, visit the EERC website at www.EthanolResponse.com.