HazMat Recipe

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Todd McKee on April 12, 2008 at 11:20am

What is the next ingredient to your HazMat recipe

Permalink Reply by Jeffrey Post on May 13, 2008 at 8:27am

Not sure what you're looking for, I can tell you that I think TATP is the easiest to make, and probably the one that I would least like to come across. If you want the recipe, just look up the anarchist cookbook, or similar reading, and look at what kind of people are cooking it up. I haven't come across it yet, and I read a good article a while back on the topic. Very nasty stuff.

Permalink Reply by Richard Michitsch on June 6, 2008 at 12:12pm

Todd,
I’m not exactly sure what you are looking for, but some potential unknowns that can happen at anytime, anywhere are:
-The FedEx, UPS, DHL, or any delivery service truck accident. The potential for the transportation of incompatible materials is very high. Add to that the fact that there will probably be no MSDSs on the manifest you can potentially be walking into a hazardous environment and not know it.
-Car Fire in the engine compartment. The by product of burning Freon is Phosgene Gas.
- I never would have though, but in a HazMat refresher I learned that a Tanker Spill of Milk into a lake or Pond that holds fish is an environmental hazard. Milk removes oxygen from water and can cause a great deal of environmental issues by killing the fish.
Although these may not be as bad as Dirty Bombs, these are issues that we can be exposed to at any firematic incident that we respond to. This is why it is important to always utilize your PPE to the fullest.
DON”T be the next one, BE safe!
Richard

Permalink Reply by Todd McKee on June 6, 2008 at 12:22pm

Great stuff Guys!
Take a look at tis and tell me what you think?

Basic Emergency Response for a Hazardous Materials Pie

Hazardous Materials are manufactured, transported, used, and stored throughout the United States and the world. Many facilities use the variety of hazardous materials on a daily basis. At the firehouse we spend several hours in the kitchen going over recipes for our next meal. Let’s change things around a bit and make a recipe for HazMat!

The first ingredient for HazMat should be RECOGNITION:
Recognizing the TYPE and degree of the Hazard present is the first step in responding to an incident. The product involved must be identified. Then the responder must determine the physical and chemical properties that make the product hazardous.

The second ingredient for HazMat should be EVALUATION:
While recognition provides basic data concerning the product, evaluation is determining the risk of the material or a course of action presents to people, property or the environment. A product that is hazardous may present a threat due to the physical state and chemical characteristics. Its actual impact, however it depends on the location of the release, weather, time and site conditions.

The third ingredient for HazMat should be CONTROL:
This is the specific action and methods that prevent or reduce the impact of the product. Preliminary control actions are generally instituted as fast as possible in an emergency situation. As additional data is gathered through our first two ingredients (RECOGNTION & EVALUATION) , initial control actions are modified.
Control measures include treatment and clean up techniques for restoring the area to prerelease conditions, called GRADLE TO GRAVE.

The fourth ingredient for HazMat should be INFORMATION:
An integral component of any Hazardous Material Response is information. All response activities are based on having information that is readily available or obtained. Information is a support element to the first three ingredients of our recipes ( recon ,eval ,and control.) It is an input to these performance elements and provides information for risk evaluation and decision-making.

The fifth ingredient for HazMat should be SAFETY:
Not only Hazardous Materials responses, but ALL responses pose risk to responders. All actions must be conducted in a manner that will protect the health and safety to all responders. Assess the chemical and physical hazards with each operation!

Relationship of Ingredients:
Each ingredient includes a variety of activities or operations, ingredients are not necessarily sequential steps for responding. However, we should always keep SAFETY in mind when removing the apparatus from the bay.

Now we have all the basic understandings of the ingredients of a Hazardous Material Emergency Response for a HazMat Pie. Now take your crew and train on all the ingredients and don’t over cook, but let it sit and then train on it again.
Be safe and train as training will save lives!

Permalink Reply by Jetty Middelkoop on July 12, 2008 at 2:24pm

According to me the best recipe for a HazMat Emergency is lack of information. We have run into several of these, where we thought to go to a "normal fire" but were confronted with a Hazmat incident:

- a house fire where there are surprisingly many nervous policemen running around - it turned out to be the home of a dangerous criminal and it contained several hand grenades! Nice surprise that could have been for our troups!

- a house fire that burned so fiercely on arrival that the crying inhabitant could not be saved - and our troups being confronted with a sudden flashover coming from hidden 200 liter vessels of solvents used to extract cocaine from clothes

- a store fire where we had a fire in a room of which we could not find the door - luckily. We broke through a wall and found a hemp growery. The door had been hidden behind a cupboard - and turned out to be booby trapped with high voltage cables connected to a power generator

- a van (or a truck) on a parking place, having no windows in the back part, burning. Keep in mind that it may contain xtc lab waste (in your country meth lab waste) and keep a safe distance - it may contain waste gas cilinders of hydrogen, hydrochloric acid or methyl amine, not to mention lots of very flammable solvents. Fire depts in our country have been confronted with this situation several times already!

I start being more suspicious by the day - pay attention to any sign that you or a colleague do not trust. Do not ignore the creepy feeling deep inside - and if you have any doubt, be extra carefull. If yo do not trust the situation and people related to the location do not want to give you info, then let it burn. Better safe than sorry

Permalink Reply by Marty Hamrick on July 21, 2008 at 9:46am

COPS!!!! HAHAHA