COLLEGE STATION – The Minnesota HazMat Response Team has selected the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) to conduct hazardous materials training for 50 responders.

Two groups of approximately 25 responders will travel to TEEX’s Brayton Fire Training Field this month to attend the 50-hour course leading to certification at the NFPA 472 Hazardous Materials Transportation Specialist level, said Kent Gardner, HazMat Training Manager with TEEX Emergency Services Training Institute.

The responders will come from across the state of Minnesota and are part of a statewide or regional Chemical Assessment or Emergency Response Team. Team members are trained and equipped to evaluate a hazardous materials incident and recommend the best means of controlling the hazard. The course trains responders to analyze a HazMat incident involving tank cars, cargo tanks, and intermodal tanks; to predict their likely behavior; and to plan and implement a response. Upon successful completion of the class, each student will receive three ProBoard certificates in Highway, Rail and Intermodal transportation, Gardner said.

A FEMA grant to Minnesota is allowing the state to send the responders to College Station for the specialized training, and follows a course Gardner conducted in Minnesota last year. TEEX has also conducted similar HazMat training for National Guard Civil Support Teams (CST) from across the nation.

Learn more about the TEEX course: NFPA 472 Hazardous Materials Transportation Specialist Training.

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