Contact: Shannon Draper
Fire Chief
Fire Department
651.385.3695
Japanese Representatives Tour Nuclear Facilities, Stop in Red Wing
(Oct. 26, 2018, Red Wing, Minn.) – Red Wing is known for its history, its art—and its commitment to nuclear safety. On Monday morning, representatives from Japanese nuclear and electric energy utility companies visited the Red Wing Fire Department. While the representatives stopped at several nuclear plants throughout the United States, the RWFD was the only city-run fire department that they toured in the entire nation.
The Japanese representatives partnered with a Minnesota-based company, AMMI Risk Solutions, and spent a week touring nuclear power plants in the U.S. The Japanese government is modeling its nuclear protection programs after the United States’ and wanted to get a better idea of U.S. government regulations regarding nuclear facilities.
Red Wing attracted their attention because of the close partnership between its fire department and the nearby Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant. The representatives were interested in learning how a city-run fire department works and interacts with a nuclear power facility and they were impressed by RWFD’s safety protocols and response time readiness with the Prairie Island plant. During the two-hour meeting with Chief Draper, many topics were discussed, including operational readiness, fire, EMS, and rescue operations during emergencies, incident command, and emergency decontamination both at Red Wing’s fire station and on the scene.
Red Wing Fire department was honored to receive the representatives and will continue its mission of utmost safety preparedness.