On February 14 and 15, 2017, Kinder Morgan Canada continued its commitment to safety and emergency preparedness by performing an emergency response exercise to practice winter oil spill response.
At our Edson Station, about 15 kilometres west of the Town of Edson, approximately 30 people – including Yellowhead County Fire Department, Alexander First Nation and Kinder Morgan Canada staff – participated in a drill focusing on response techniques for oil containment and recovery during winter conditions. Topics included ice safety evaluation, ice rescue techniques, company safety protocol for working on ice-covered waterbodies and the use of equipment found on the KMC Winter Response Trailer. Equipment utilized for this exercise included an ice auger and caged chainsaw allowing exercise participants to create an ice a slot in order to establish containment and recovery. This 1.5-day exercise included a half day of classroom training and one full day of on-ice deployment utilizing our Edson Station Firewater Pond.
“We perform approximately 20 exercises of varying types throughout the year and understanding response under ice and snow is a critical part of exercising our emergency response plans,” says Kelly Malinoski, Manager of Emergency Management at Kinder Morgan Canada. “At this exercise we specifically tested one of our four winter response trailers.” Staff members demonstrated their commitment to safety throughout the exercise and a strong understanding for the different types of equipment and techniques that are available for use during winter response operations. Regular training and exercises such as this are integral to KMC’s safety and emergency preparedness program to ensure safe and effective response at any time of the year.