Hi everyone. Been a little while since I was active here (still lurking and moderating).

So, this happend Monday:

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8822423

"Authorities say a car crossed over the center line and slammed head-on into a Cress Gas Company truck, which was fully loaded with 3,000 gallons of propane.
Both drivers were injured in the crash.

"There's gas ejecting and it ignited and there's a fire so they decided to let the fire continue burning to help relieve the pressure in the tank," emergency management spokesman Martin Focazio said.

Firefighters and hazmat crews worked to keep the tanker cool with foam and water, treating it as a ticking time bomb in the middle of Route 611.

"It's very volatile. At any time the tank could have exploded. If you noticed the trucks were set up, there was nobody with them. We set them up and abandoned them. Let them flow water on to keep it cool," Ottsville Fire Chief Tom Rimmer said.

Officials were so concerned about the danger they evacuated a one mile area around the tanker and set up a shelter for evacuees at St. John the Baptist Church on Durham Road in Nockamixon Township.

Marion Mergenthaler grabbed her dog Lily and headed to the church after fire police knocked on her door and told her to get out.

"I left everything. Whatever I was going to do today I'm not doing. I left because you never know," Mergenthaler said."

100% of our shelter residents did not have a go bag, we sent crews back for medications for some, and decided to NOT send anyone back after they abandoned the fire trucks and left them running water on the propane tanker.

A Go Bag means this:

1. There's a knock at the door. "There's a propane tank on fire 1,000 feet from here. You have to leave, right now."

2. In under 60 seconds you have your bag, you add in a few things (like medications, prescriptions and wallet and keys) and you get into a van that's driving you somewhere you may have never been or you get into your own vehicle and drive in a direction a cop is pointing - you have no choice.

We were only open for about 6 hours at the shelter. It was a great drill, and aside from the drivers in the vehicles, nobody got hurt.

Additionally, I was acting EMC for two adjoining townships, because their EMC's were unavailable, and I'm now a firm believer in NIMS/ICS, because 100% of the staff i had were people I knew but were not part of my own EMA, but because of NIMS/ICS we knew who was to do what, we used common terminology and it was easy. I was able to assign roles and know that they knew what their job was.

It was an interesting day.