MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — First responders around Mobile County are learning about pipeline safety. The Mobile County Emergency Management Agency will host a series of training sessions for firefighters starting today. A Pipeline emergency is something that’s both low frequency and high risk–they rarely happen, but when they do it could be disastrous.

That’s what firefighters will learn about this week. This is a program that started at the Federal Department of Transportation and is being run at the state level by the Alabama Fire College.
These training sessions bring together firefighters and pipeline operators for the Alabama Pipeline Emergency Response Initiative. The deputy director of the Mobile County EMA says pipelines often run in remote areas and it’s important to stay up-to-date on potential hazards.

“People can go years and not respond to a pipeline emergency. And it’s just like, say, a high-rise fire. You know, it’s not something that happens every day. But the firefighters have to be prepared to deal with it when it happens,” said Doug Cooper.

The training sessions will happen over the next two weeks. They hope to train about 200 fire personnel from both paid and volunteer departments and train someone from every fire agency in Mobile County. Find more information on training sessions here.