Breadth of experience and knowledge are important. Because of the dynamic nature of
disaster response, it’s especially important for the project manager to have extensive
technical knowledge to apply to the situation. This is an environment where “reasonable
understanding” of the technical issues is not good enough. The Wreckmaster must
understand rail operations and derailments, and he/she should have the ability to
coordinate the various groups that will respond to a disaster should one happen. It is not
unusual for disasters to happen at inconvenient times and under harsh environmental
conditions, so the Wreckmaster should have the perseverance of will to tackle even the
toughest cleanup challenges.