Louisiana firefighters train for CO₂ pipeline emergencies with new state-of-the-art prop

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Louisiana’s first responders are stepping into a new era of pipeline safety training. A new CO₂ pipeline training prop, officially unveiled Tuesday at the Fire & Emergency Training Academy (FETA) in Baton Rouge, will give firefighters hands-on experience responding to potential CO₂ pipeline emergencies.

The initiative is a partnership between the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal, the Louisiana Fire & Emergency Training Academy, ExxonMobil, and River Parishes Community College.

“This is going to give them a leg up,” said Michael Smith with ExxonMobil Pipeline Company. “It’s going to give them the training they need to feel comfortable working around carbon dioxide.”

Carbon dioxide, and how to safely manage it, is becoming an increasingly important topic in the energy sector. Industry leaders say capturing and transporting CO₂ can help offset emissions that drive climate change, though experts continue to debate its overall impact.

In states like Mississippi, pipeline explosions have shown the importance of emergency preparedness. Louisiana fire officials say this new training prop is designed to replicate real emergency scenarios.

“This prop will have a burn feature on it, and it’ll actually catch on fire,” said Bryan Adams, Louisiana State Fire Marshal. “We’ll show the firefighters how to put the fire out, how to shut off the valve, and simulate what would happen in the field.”

The project represents an investment valued at more than $500,000, which includes a $50,000 cash donation, the CO₂ pipeline training prop itself, and a specialized teaching curriculum, all provided by ExxonMobil.

The Baton Rouge site is the first of its kind in Louisiana. In the past, firefighters traveled to Texas for similar training.

“Rather than have our firefighters travel over to the existing training in the state of Texas, we’ve worked very hard to bring that training here to Louisiana,” Smith said.

ExxonMobil is also providing a teaching curriculum to accompany the product.

“We’ll have these classes on a quarterly basis going forward,” Smith added. “Firefighters can sign up through the Acadis system. There is no cost to attend.”

The free training program will be accessible to firefighters across the state to strengthen Louisiana’s readiness in the event of a CO₂ pipeline incident.

Officials said the investment is bout keeping first responders and communities safe.

The training program is based at the Fire & Emergency Training Academy in Baton Rouge and is available to fire departments statewide.

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