Hazardous materials awareness

Chapters 4 and 5

Protective equipment

Command, safety and scene control

Protective equipment

Protective equipment

• Personnel need to be protected from the hazards of the hazardous materials release.

• Structural firefighting turnouts provide very little chemical protection.

• First responders should be aware of chemical protective clothing and understand its limitations.

Types of protective equipment

• Level A suits give high protection against vapors, gas, mist, and particles for the wearer and the SCBA

• Level B suits provide splash protection, and is used with an SCBA

• Level C is a level B suit with a different form of respiratory protection, like respirators.

Types of protective equipment

• Level D protective equipment provides no respiratory protection, and very little skin protection. Work clothes, uniforms, and structural turnouts are all considered to be level D protection.

• Turnouts are not resistant to corrosives, not airtight, and will not protect against vapors. They may even soak up a hazardous substance.

High temperature protective clothing

Protective breathing equipment

Command, safety and scene control

Local emergency response plans

• A local plan must address the following areas;– Hazmat facilities and methods of

transportation– Methods of handling hazmat incidents– Methods to warn people at risk– Equipment and information resources

Local emergency response plans (cont.)

– Evacuation plans– Training of first responders– Schedule for excercising the plan

• First responders should be familiar with the plan, and know where to find it.

• Copies should be made for all first responders.

Emergency information management

• There are two types of communication associated with hazmat emergencies– External communications are the initial

dispatch and initial information– Internal communications consist of

additional information that responders gather after they have arrived on scene.

External communication data• Location of incident• Identity of material involved• Approximate quantity of material • Weather conditions at site• Persons and areas threatened• Events leading to incident• Any control actions taken• Type of assistance needed• Responsible party and contact data

Internal communication data• Upon finding that a hazmat incident is in progress,

first responders should ask for additional hazmat response

• Additional radio channels will need to be assigned• Whenever possible, on scene units need to talk

directly to technical specialists• All information must also be shared with the

incident commander.

Mission of incident operations for the awareness level

• Recognize the incident and implement sops• Call for appropriate help to mitigate the

incident• Secure the area and deny entry • Survey the incident from a distance and

identify the material• Determine appropriate actions as per the

dot erg guide

Incident management• The incident command system should be

used to manage the incident, and should include the following features;– Common terminology– Modular organization– Integrated communications– Unified command structure

Hazard assessment

• Based on an assessment of the situation, the ic needs to develop an action plan based on three strategic goals;

• Life safety

• Enviormental protection

• Property conservation

Modes of operation

• General classification of actions to be taken;– Non-intervention

– Offensive

– Defensive

Non-intervention• When to use;

– When hazards at site are too great

– Beyond capability of responders

– Explosions are imminent

– Container damage threatens a massive release

• Involves the following;– Withdrawing to a safe

distance

– Report scene conditions and control scene

– Call for necessary evacuations and call for additional resources

Defensive• When to use;

– When hazard type calls for defensive actions

– When first responders are trained and equipped for defensive hazmat operations

• Tasks needed;– All of the same tasks

as non-interventioon along with;

– Control material spread by diverting to a safe location

– Construct dikes and dams

– Control ignition sources

Offensive• This is where responders take aggressive and

direct action with containers and equipment to stop the release, stabilize and mitigate the incident

• Will result in contact with the material and will require appropriate protective equipment

• This is beyond the scope of first responders and is carried out by hazmat technicians

Determining levels of hazardous materials incidents

• Level I incidents are the least serious , and within the capabilities of the fire department. Gasoline spill from a vehicle

• Level ii incidents are larger and may overwhelm the local juristiction by size or material involved drum of corrosives or overturned tanker

• Level iii incidents are on a disaster scale and will involve help from many agencies, including the state and/or federal goverment

Eliminating ignition sources• Internal combustion engines• Electric motors, switches and controls• Lighting equipment• Fuel powered equipment• Open or pilot flames• Electrostatic or frictional sparks• Heated metal surfaces• Fusees, flares,and lanterns• Radios, hand lights,pagers and pass alarms

Establishing the initial isolation distance

• Any material in the yellow or blue pages of the dot erg guide that are highlighted are in the green pages of isolation distances.

• These distances do not apply if the material is on fire or has been leaking for more than 30 minutes

• Green pages also give protective action distances for small and large spills

Controlling access to the initial isolation zone

• Station a responder at approaches and deny entry

• Activate local alarm devices• Reroute traffic away from scene• Put up physical barriers tape, rope,

barricades• Transmit warnings over pa systems• Use media to give warnings

Evacuees

• Need to be told nature of emergency, route to proceed, and location of assembly area

• Evacuees may need to be decontaminated, and triage may need to be performed.

• Record identification of those evacuated

Triage/treatment area• Evacuees are brought here for assessment

and stabilization

• Responders should use caution with victims when moving them from decon to triage in case they have not been throughly decontaminated

• Victims are then handed over to ems personnel who have been trained in hazmat response