Before I started writing on the the Fire Service Warrior topics I published several articles on Hazardous Materials response. Below is one that was published by Fire Engineering in the May 2004 issue.
First-due fire companies will initially recognize many haz-mat incidents. Your engine crew may be dispatched for the "odor investigation," for example, and arrive at a construction site to find a drum leaking an unknown substance. Your truck crew may be assigned to investigate an "unknown alarm" going off, called in by a cell phone caller, of course, and find that it is a chlorine alarm at a local pool. It is the first-due company that will initiate the haz-mat response team's (HMRT) action and set the stage for the incident.
Members who aren't certified haz-mat technicians sometimes feel that there is little they can do between calling for the response team and that team's arrival. That is far from true. Taking small but crucial steps in the first minutes will dramatically improve the course of the entire incident. What, then, can our first-due responders, our awareness- and operations-trained personnel, do to make
this situation better without exceeding the scope of their training? They can keep themselves and the local civilian population out of the hazardous area and establish the incident management system (IMS).
The entire article can be found online: Engine and Truck Company Initial Actions
Give it a look.
