First responders article in Sentinel
Vicki Baggett
The Danielle Dawn Smalley Foundation will host a training session for first-responders in Shelby Field in the Texas Haynesville Shale drilling region.
During this session, responders will learn about gas-well site operations, hazards and emergency- response protocols.
The training session is sponsored by EXCO Resources Inc. and is coordinated by the Smalley Foundation, in cooperation with local emergency response agencies.
“As drilling activity expands, first responders working in the Haynesville Shale increasingly want and need information about local drilling operations and wellsite emergency response protocols,” said Michelle Joseph, executive director for the Danielle Dawn Smalley Foundation.
“The focused training sessions we are hosting will enhance community safety and improve interagency emergency response in coordination with operators. We applaud EXCO Resources’ leadership and initiative to sponsor this training and are encouraged by the interest and engagement from local response agencies.”
Responders attending the training sessions will learn about gas-well site operations and discuss potential hazards, well-site emergency response protocols and guidance for coordinating response activities with local operators.
The training sessions for firstresponders initiate a series of community engagement activities designed to facilitate communication and enhance emergency planning and preparedness. Over the next 12 months, the Smalley Foundation will also coordinate community awareness meetings and outreach to local schools and school bus drivers.
“We are excited to facilitate dialog between various stakeholders in the Haynesville Shale including operators, emergency responders and community leaders,” Joseph adds.
Responders in the Haynesville Shale, Marcellus Shale and Barnett Shale drilling regions are just some of the thousands of first responders in communities with gas drilling and pipeline infrastructure who have received training from the Smalley Foundation since 2002. Shelby Field first responders can attend a dinner and presentation to be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 31, in the Chireno Community Center, 664 Main St., Chireno.
For information or to RSVP, contact Michelle Joseph at 972-742-5790 or michell...@smalleyfnd.org.
——— The Smalley Foundation is a private, non-profit corporation dedicated to partnering with natural gas producers and pipeline companies to increase safety around pipelines and gaswell sites through emergencyresponder training and publicawareness programs.
Since 2002, the Foundation has conducted emergency response training for thousands of firstresponders in communities with gas drilling and pipeline infrastructure.
The Smalley Foundation was established by Danny Smalley, the father of Danielle Dawn Smalley, who was killed in a pipeline explosion in 1996 in Kaufman County.