Whether answering the call of an emergent situation or a critical, real-life and/or human experience by land (above and underground), water or air, Haz Mat Special Services (HMSS) has been the go-to with more than 200 years of combined experience.
Haz Mat Special Services
Skimming operations
HMSS is no stranger to biohazards, hazardous materials, waste, radiation/radioactives (TENORM), industrial fires, explosions, weather-related occurrences, weapons of mass destruction and more - recently adding COVID-19 decontamination to its checklist of services.
Headquartered in Pasadena, Texas, HMSS serves the Gulf Coast - Texas, Louisiana, Florida and parts of Mississippi and Arkansas. When dispatched outside of their usual expanse, the 24/7 emergency response team of experts and industry professionals is ready to go.
Complementary emergency response fleet and equipment
HMSS has hundreds of vehicles in its fleet. To name a few - high-side and sealed-end dumps, roll-off box trucks and haulers, winch and vacuum trucks, rapid-response boats and skimmers, tanks, pontoon excavators and all-terrain vehicles. Drone technology, unmanned aerial vehicles used to surveil, patrol, survey and inspect, are among the company's other capacities.
A favorite of HMSS's COO Mike Hill is the 3500 Chevy Silverado Ohio rail system that operates in dual mode on highways (tires) and railroad tracks (flanged steel wheels) - commonly known as hi-rail.
"The hi-rail has a trailer we use to transport emergency equipment, including a 1000 gallon water tank and foam system - strategically geared for asset protection," said Hill, who has more than 25 years in environmental services management. "When we've got a bridge in trouble or in danger of being burned out, we'll take that truck to the site and protect it."
Certifications, compliance and training
Having the best personnel and equipment are part of HMSS's mission. The company sets a standard of industry practices to ensure clients receive detailed documentation and the assurance that cost control measures are met. HMSS is a certified designated collaborating organization (DCO), a federal oil-spill response organization (OSRO) and is a partner of the Texas General Land Office (GLO).
Its affiliate, Training Specialties Inc. (TSI), provides advanced technology, equipment, services and training to industry and petrochemical professionals. TSI's Advanced Foam Firefighting School's hands-on training took place in late September at TEEX Brayton Fire Training Field in College Station, Texas. Actual firefighting and training included simple and complex, small and large, and realistic fire evolutions, featuring real live night burns. Lessons covered foam chemistry, end goal of incidence response, strategic water delivery and methods of avoiding pitfalls.
For more information about TSI, visit trainingspecs.com, email info@trainingspecs.com or call (610) 524-2522.
For more information about HMSS, visit hazmatspecialservices.com or call (855) HAZ-MAT9.
