Responding to disaster
HAZMAT trucks, equipment on display at Iowa CentralBy ANGELA BURCH Messenger staff writer
Article Photos
An accident scene can bring more first responders than emergency medical technicians and police officers.
Someone often needs to step in to prevent dangerous leaks and spills from spreading further.
That's where the Region V Hazardous Materials team steps in.
The team, based in Fort Dodge, responds to any kind of emergency situation where chemicals are involved or could potentially pose danger.
In the case of an accident - especially a vehicle accident where fuel might be leaking - is to "help the fire department, stop the leak, or whatever it takes to keep in contained to wherever we need to keep it contained," said Bruce Ahrens, technical coordinator for Region V HAZMAT.
The team - which covers Pocahontas, Humboldt, Wright, Sac, Calhoun, Webster, Carroll and Greene counties - was on the Iowa Central Community College's campus Wednesday afternoon with trucks and equipment from multiple counties on display.
There are 21 technicians on the team which is a combination of people from fire departments and paramedics, who train at least 24 hours a year for HAZMAT.
"We respond to just about any kind of chemical, so you have to be able to adapt to whatever you're dealing with," Ahrens said. "They guys are really good, they train well and they work hard."
Region V HAZMAT has two full-size trucks that can respond to an incident and operate as a full-command center for the HAZMAT technicians. It has trailers as well that are fully stocked with various chemicals - such as alcohol foam liquid - in case of a situation where regular foam won't put out a fire. Ahren referenced the multiple ethanol plants throughout the region that regularly deal with various chemicals, as a "for instance" situation.
In the command center, there are computers with Internet access, cameras to monitor the scene, a weather station and radios and various other tools necessary to safely diffuse what could quickly become a dangerous situation, he said.
"We can do all of our (on scene) planning and research right here," Ahrens said. "We can access any chemical database in the world, so if there's a chemical we're not familiar with, we can contact the chemical manufacturer."
Ahrens said most of the local calls the HAZMAT team responds to involve farm chemicals, such as ammonia. However, they are also called out by the fire department if there is a fuel spill or any type of situation which could involve a chemical.
"The biggest thing is identifying what kind of chemical you're dealing with, then you downgrade or upgrade," he said.
There is also a massive decontamination shower that can be set up on scene which takes at least four people to set up and break down. That way if there was ever an instance of contamination, Ahren said people can line up and get through it quickly.
Scott Kuester, fire science coordinator at Iowa Central, is a retired from the Goodell Fire Department and worked 20 years in the field.
"Regional HAZMAT teams are an important resource for the fire department," Kuester said. "Region V is super. They respond right away to calls and they've always been willing to do training with the volunteer departments around and make sure we know their equipment."
He also credited the HAZMAT team for letting students in the fire science department come out and tour the equipment.
"That's what these students need," he said. "Right now the students can't respond to emergencies, but what they need is the hands-on learning."
In addition to working within the nine-county area, Ahrens said the 22 HAZMAT teams from across the state can effectively work together.
"If we need more technicians, more equipment, more suits, we can work together - we're not isolated," he said. "There are a lot of resources statewide and Iowa cooperates pretty (well) with everybody."
Contact Angela Burch at (515) 573-2141 or aburch@messengernews.net
