GRANITEVILLE, S.C. (AP) -- The fire department here needs better coordination with law enforcement agencies during a disaster, according to a response review nearly six months after the deadliest train wreck involving hazardous material in nearly three decades.
Overall, the review commended the Graniteville-Vaucluse-Warrenville department's response, but said there were several improvements that could be made.
The agency's volunteer firefighters were among the first on the scene when a Norfolk Southern train slammed into a parked three-car train Jan. 6, rupturing a chlorine tanker and releasing a toxic cloud over Graniteville. Nine people were killed and hundreds injured after inhaling the chlorine.
The review said the firefighters need to be better educated on county emergency operations plans and procedures, and the response was erratic during the first 30 minutes following pre-dawn crash.
But the erratic response could be attributed to firefighters heading straight to the crash site, because they were reporting to the fire station, located just yards away from the crash.
Firefighters, including volunteer Chief Phil Napier, can be heard on 911 tapes coughing and gasping for air.
''We were getting into a hazardous incident we didn't have information on,'' Napier said Tuesday. He said his department wasn't adequately alerted that a toxic chemical had been released.
The report also said more detailed information was needed from 911 dispatchers, including specific locations of victims requesting help.
The review is the result of interviews between the fire department and Bob Steadman, a senior emergency preparedness specialist with Westinghouse Savannah River Co. The report amounts to a self-audit by the local agency.
Steadman held interviews and produced similar reports for the Aiken County Sheriff's Office and emergency personnel. The report on the sheriff's office generally gave the agency good marks.
The report on emergency personnel hasn't been made public. Aiken County Administrator Clay Killian said he hadn't received it and would provide copies to the Aiken County Council before releasing the findings.
