Maritime Fire & Safety Association

EQUIPMENT DEPLOYMENT

Oil Spill Contingency Plan Holders, such as The Maritime Fire & Safety Association (MFSA), are required to test their abilities to respond to spills in their area by deploying response equipment at least twice per year. The MFSA and its Primary Response Contractor tested their capabilities on June 29, 2022.

The states of Oregon and Washington, through the Northwest Area Committee, develop specific response strategies for the waterways in their jurisdiction. The plan for this deployment was an attempt to test how some of these strategies work during periods of high water and flow like we have been experiencing. The variations in river level impact how resources can be deployed – an island or shoreline that needs to be protected when water is at a normal level may be completely under water during high water conditions. Fast water causes anchors to be pulled out of location and response boom to be “entrained,” or sink below the surface of the river.

Both of these factors proved to be too much for this particular response strategy. The drill is still a success, as the information learned is evaluated and passed on to the states to help improve responder knowledge.

An equipment deployment drill or exercise is intended to demonstrate a contractor’s ability to physically contain or collect spilled oil. It enables the responders to remain familiar with equipment and geographic areas by practicing real-life, hands-on skills.

Clean Rivers’ Operations Manager giving a safety briefing before going out on the water.

Our last publication highlighted the Awareness Level Training, the level which all FPAAC agency personnel should hold. “Awareness” isn’t just a level of training offered by FPAAC - It is also the knowledge that something exists, or understanding of a situation or subject. As personnel have rotated out of the Technician Level, the need for participants to become familiar with the deep draft ports of Cowlitz and Columbia Counties has grown.

On May 19, twenty-four firefighters, company and command officers from seven different agencies combined for a day of touring some lesser-known facilities in Longview and Clatskanie. Representatives from each facility briefed (L) Northwest Alloys, Longview, WA (R) US Gypsum, Rainier, OR FPAAC personnel on a number of key details including: access points, staging areas, water supply, weight limits, firefighting capabilities, and much more. This training was very well received and we plan to hold trainings of this nature much more frequently than has been done in the past.

At the request of Astoria Fire and their auto and mutual aid agencies, FPAAC held a second Awareness Level Training on June 18, this time at Clatsop Community College in Astoria, OR. This consisted of a PowerPoint presentation followed by an interactive session on how to read a ship’s Fire Control Plan. A special thanks to Aberdeen Fire, Knappa Fire, and Lewis & Clark Fire for sending participants.

Anyone interested in learning more about the FPAAC training program should contact Mason Sullivan, sullivan@pdxmex.com.

(top) FPAAC Training Coordinator Don Doyle explaining the common ways that crew organization charts can be made up

(bottom) Astoria Fire personnel participating in the Fire Control Plan (FCP) scavenger hunt

For more information, please visit our website: www.mfsa.com Holly Robinson, General Manager: robinson@pdxmex.com Mason Sullivan, Administrative Coordinator: sullivan@pdxmex.com