A member of the Hampstead Volunteer Fire Company recently had the opportunity to attend an advanced training course on crude oil shipments by railway at the Security and Emergency Response Training Center in Pueblo, CO. The course was a 3 day training session dealing with all aspects of rail shipments containing crude oil. During the course, instructors provided a history of crude oil, the hazards involved when dealing with the product, and how to perform site and damage assessments. Students also learned the nomenclature of rail cars as well as their design features and how they are constructed. Valuable skills in foam application, water supply operations, fire attack strategies, resource management, and incident management operations were all covered in the intense classroom and hands-on portions of the course. On the final day, the students participated in five, live fire, mock train derailment exercises. The students were evaluated on their abilities to manage the scene, performing scene size ups, cooling operations, and fire suppression. Although Carroll County does not have any railways with direct shipments of crude oil moving on them, the tactics and skills learned during the course can be applied to a variety of incidents involving flammable liquid cargo and non-hazardous cargo train derailments. Some of the tactics can also be applied to commercial motor vehicles involved in an emergency incident carrying hazardous materials. This training is invaluable to helping prepare first responders for incidents that may occur not only in Hampstead but also in the surrounding community which we may be called upon to assist through mutual aid.