Expanding the Role of Your Hazardous Materials Team. Haz Mat as a value-added service.

Emergency response is the cornerstone of hazardous materials teams. While response is important, there are other activities that hazardous materials teams can be involved in that further integrate hazardous materials into the organization, provided added benefits, and open routes to potential new funding streams.

Support at Fire Scenes

The hazardous materials team is capable of providing support at fire scenes with actions that will improve the health and safety of responders. First, hazardous materials teams should utilize air monitoring devices to identify and classify respiratory hazards. While the use of 4-gas monitors is common practice, these devices are negatively impacted by heat and humidity, resulting in the possibility of inaccurate readings. While 4-gas meters are commonly set up to sense oxygen, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen sulfide or hydrogen cyanide levels, they do not capture dozens of other fire gases that can lead to both acute and chronic conditions. Hazardous materials teams should also be assessing for common fire gases such as aldehydes, acid gases, organic irritants, and aromatic and cyclic hydrocarbons. In addition to air monitoring, hazardous materials teams should also be employed to oversee on-scene decontamination of both emergency responders and fire victims, including those who will be transported to medical facilities. This will ensure that decontamination is thorough and prevent cross contamination into fire stations, ambulances, and emergency departments.

Support for Arson Investigation

The use of advanced chemical identification technology can provide rapid, presumptive confirmation of the presence of accelerants, assisting fire investigators with determining the cause and origin of fires, reducing investigation time, and ensuring that hazardous materials technicians are well versed in the use and application of advanced technologies while making sure that the equipment is used and applied to the greatest extent possible.

Support for Law Enforcement Investigation

Advanced technologies can also assist in the identification of narcotics and speed the investigation time. This allows law enforcement to move forward with investigations while awaiting final confirmation from the drug lab. As with supporting arson investigations, this ensures personnel familiarity with the technology, expands the application and integration of the hazardous materials team, and provides improved return on investment.

By expanding the role and activities of hazardous materials teams, communities gain greater return on investment, teams gain experience and application of technologies and techniques, and teams may gain routes for additional funding to support their mission.