He's a legend among emergency responders throughout Minnesota, but Dick Kable looks more like a rangy, plainspoken field hand who just rolled out of bed. Eleven team members support fire departments and public safety organizations, responding to or tracking about 2,300 incidents a year. Kable and his colleagues spend less time on crisis management these days, and more time on efforts to prevent and prepare for environmental emergencies.
Spills are expensive, so businesses are improving training and equipment.
Steve Lee leads the ERT, and confirms that his unit's focus has changed to prevention - but not because there are fewer spills. The increase also reflects increased transportation of hazardous materials. Lee credits the 1991 Grand Rapids oil spill with jump-starting the State Spill Bill, which requires businesses to prepare for spills. Lee decided that his team should coach businesses and local governments in incident response. In the past year, the ERT conducted 25 sessions for 16 fire departments along the Mississippi River from the headwaters to the Twin Cities.