When HazMat Responds

When called to the scene of a chemical-related incident:

• The HazMat team analyzes the situation and makes recommendations to the Incident Commander on how best to proceed.
   
  
• Unlike fire and rescue units, the HazMat Team must fully understand the "chemical components" of the hazard it faces to adequately protect the responders.
   
  
• The nature of the hazard will dictate the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that the responder must wear. An error in selecting the equipment can result in serious injury or loss of life.
   
  
• Using monitoring instruments, shipping manifests, chemical reference books, computer modeling, and other resources, the HazMat Team determines the appropriate course of action to mitigate the hazard.
   
  
• To ensure safety and success, each member is assigned a different but critical task such as entry, decontamination, technical reference, safety, monitoring, and rescue.

Some of the City HazMat Team's more challenging responses have been tanker rollovers requiring drilling operations, active drug labs and terrorism related incidents.