In emergency response, there are incidents to review, opinions, strategies, tactics, old school vs. new school methods, and equipment, plus the ever-present "we've always done it that way" mindset.
At Industrial Rescue, we feel one of those areas involving hazardous materials is totally wrong. In this two-part series, I will explain why it's wrong and how to correct it.
Our Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Program Manager is David Lawson. Lawson retired from the Beaumont, Texas, Fire Department in 2012 and is a premier instructor in HazMat. He brings 40-plus years of response experience to his students. Lawson is impressive to all of us because he has memorized the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) by heart. He is constantly striving to improve and design new HazMat scenarios and simulations for his students.
With each class, Lawson follows our principles of explaining the essence of an effective and safe response, helping the student understand the why and teaching techniques of applying the how in different ways to accomplish the task.
The key aspects of HazMat are the identification of the materials and defining our areas of operations in the shortest timeframe. One thing we see during training evolutions is that teams need to practice more and focus on setting up the true hot zone.
So, what's the paradigm we need to bust?
Defining the hot zone
If you ask any student (from a firefighter all the way up to chief) to define the hot zone in HazMat, we wager that each person will draw a perfectly round circle. That's what we have all been taught; it's in the books and on the internet. How can that be wrong?
We say, however, the circle is totally wrong.
Many factors must be considered in using the proper techniques for determining the hot zone, which is the area where the highest Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH) hazards exist, including the most appropriate and effective level of PPE to be worn.
When determining the true hot zone, you must take into account the type of product being released. Is it a leak or spill? What is the configuration of piping, the building layout and construction? Is it an open or closed area? What is the terrain, humidity, temperature and, of course, wind?
What about a rescue? You may also have to consider if there is a person involved, the injury or condition of the patient, the severity of the injury or condition, obstructions to rapid movement of the patient, the location of the patient (downwind, upwind, crosswind) and whether it can be easily reached, along with other issues unique to each situation.
A basic HazMat rule we teach is, "What we deal with is invisible, and it will kill you." Just as we sometimes see in our classes or out in the field, there may be limited personnel on duty. It is imperative that we teach responders why certain actions need to be taken and how to formulate solutions so that each person is efficient and safe in their response to a hazardous materials incident.
The importance of the why and how
Why do we teach these principles? We do not want anyone to get hurt. The incident is temporary. The injury or death is permanent and will affect the person, their family and the company forever.
Students must understand and apply skills to accomplish particular tasks. We strive to teach the principles that responders can apply 100 percent of the time, 100-percent correctly. We show why each component of the HazMat response system works for a particular job and how to use the fastest and safest methods.
Industrial Rescue uses the most up-to-date practices and equipment to meet the challenges industrial and municipal responders face. We are constantly meeting with manufacturers and other HazMat response professionals to evaluate the safest, most efficient hazardous materials instruction and techniques. Consider us for your training and standby rescue team needs. We promise to provide a dedicated, knowledgeable teaching staff and standby personnel with worldwide experience in many facilities. Visit our training facility at 600 Marina Drive, Beaumont, TX 77703. We'll buy you lunch after the tour.
In part two, which will run in the next issue of BIC Magazine, I will finish explaining how we at Industrial Rescue define the hot zone, considering wind speed and direction to determine zone size.
Let us show you why and how.
For more information on defining the hot zone in HazMat, visit www.industrialrescue.com, email Elgin Browning at elgin@irisrescue.com or email David Lawson at lawson@irisrescue.com.