First responders in the Quad Cities received a taste of what it's like to handle a disaster in the community.
Hundreds of people, including first responders and city officials, crowded inside the Waterfront Convention Center in Bettendorf, learning from emergency personnel who have dealt with disasters.
The event is timely considering in early March a BNSF train carrying crude oil derailed in a rural area south of Galena, Illinois, a town of just more than 3,000 people. The derailment in Galena was just one of a string of train derailments in the past year.
The derailment also raised concerns locally as to whether or not emergency responders are prepared for such an incident in the Quad Cities.
East Moline fire chief Robert DeFrance was in attendance, and acknowledged that "crude oil is being shipped, and we know that it's coming through the Quad Cities in a pretty good quantity."
"It's not really the characteristics of the product, it's just how much there is," DeFrance said.
Because the Quad-City railways lie along highly populated areas, crews must be properly trained in case a similar incident occurs like the one in Galena.
Jim Fobert, the Rock Island fire chief, said his crews complete disaster training about once per month.
"It's important to understand everyone's capabilities, and then an incident does happen we can all work together," Fobert explained.
Rail companies, including BNSF and Canadian-Pacific Railroad, do not release the exact amount of product that is being transported through the area, nor do they communicate when those products will be transported. The company sites safety concerns as the reasoning.
Rail companies do stage safety equipment such as foam and booms across the country where their trains pass.
"Our products certainly do include dangerous goods," said Canadian-Pacific Railroad spokesman Andy Cummings. "We have to be able to handle any incident involving any of the dangerous goods that we handle."
While dangerous materials are hauled directly through the heart of the Quad Cities, Cummings pointed out the safety of rail transportation.
"The rail industry delivers 99.997% of dangerous goods that we handle to destination without a release. That is a very strong safety record," Cummings said.