"Internal breakdowns like those add to the chronic terror neighbors and businesses face downwind of the refinery, said Heidi Taylor, who lives along its fence line in downtown Martinez. She said she's seen level-one alerts and enormous flaring almost every day for the past month, which was confirmed by Contra Costa County officials. It's the public that suffers as a result of MRC's incompetence, or what I would argue is gross negligence, Taylor said Tuesday at a Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors meeting."
"Instead of switching channels on one device, MRC employees have to carry two radios in order to communicate with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and dozens of other agencies tuned to the East Bay Regional Interoperable Communications System's frequencies, according to ConFire Deputy Chief Aaron McAlister. It's not uncommon for crisis teams to juggle different devices, which McAlister said is frequently the case when ConFire navigates wildland environments with CalFire brigades or interacts with police officers in Richmond."
A massive February fire at the Martinez Refinery Company released more than 7,000 gallons of hydrocarbon materials into the air. Oil crews were using incompatible radio systems that prevented immediate contact with local public safety agencies. County firefighters arrived 14 minutes after notification but were stalled outside because they could not contact refinery operators, delaying the establishment of a unified command center by nearly two hours. Neighbors report daily level-one alerts and frequent flaring. MRC employees must carry two radios to reach East Bay Regional Interoperable Communications System frequencies, but the refinery has only a few EBRICS radios and none on its internal fire brigade.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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