All members of the Southard Fire Department are trained to respond, in some fashion, to incidents involving hazardous materials (HAZ-MAT). Hazardous Materials response in the state of New Jersey is divided into five levels, covering defensive operations, offensive operations, specialized operations, and command operations.
Defensive operations are actions that do not involve responders intentionally coming in contact with a hazardous material. Offensive operations are actions where responders will aggressively enter an established danger zone in order to confine, isolate, or otherwise mitigate an incident. Listed below are the different levels and types of actions allowed. The amount of training responders need to receive represent, at a minimum, 164 hours of training, not including training required for annual recertification. The amount of training increases even more once a responder has reached level IV, which requires many more hours of academic, and hands-on experience in a particular specialization of Haz-Mat Response.
Level I - Haz-Mat Awareness – DEFENSIVE
Level II - Haz-Mat Operations – DEFENSIVE
Level III- Haz-Mat Technician – OFFENSIVE
Level IV - Haz-Mat Specialist – OFFENSIVE, requiring specialized knowledge of a specific discipline such as Cargo Tank Truck, Railroad Specialists, Radiation Emergencies, COBRA (Chemical, Ordinance, Biological, Radiological), Level "A" Protective Clothing, and Atmospheric Monitoring.
Level V- On Scene Commander – COMMAND, required for any person to command an Haz Mat incident
State law requires that all personnel are trained at minimum to Level II, which enables the responder to recognize hazardous materials, and defensive protective actions until the situation can be brought under control.
The Southard Fire Department has established a Hazardous Materials Response Team, all members are trained to the level II, Haz-Mat Operations and 22 members that are trained to Level III, Haz-Mat Technician. 12 members of the team are certified to Level V. 10 of the 12 are trained to Level IV, specializing in one, or more of the following disciplines: |