Hazardous Materials Incident Response

• Initial response to Hazardous Materials Incidents is to establish safe and effective operating practices.
• This guideline applies to all Emergency Operations personnel.
• Issue Date: 05/21/2018, Effective Date: 06/21/2018

Authority

• Fire Rescue Administrator
• NFPA 471, Recommended Practices for Responding to Hazardous Materials Incidents
• NFPA 472, Standard for Professional Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials Incidents
• Palm Beach County Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team Manual
• DOT Emergency Response Guidebook

Attachments

• Emergency Response Guidebook
• Wiser
• Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team (RHMRT) Manual
• Hazardous Materials Technician Training Modules IAFF
• Florida State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) (PBCFR applicable pages)
• CHEMTREC

CBRNE Incidents

• Hazardous materials incidents encompass a variety of potential situations including: Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE).
• CBRNE incidents are extremely hazardous and complex emergencies.
• Explosives include any solid, liquid, or gas that may cause a flash or explosion.
• Specialized response procedures and specially trained personnel are required to mitigate CBRNE incidents due to their extreme lethality.
• Managing CBRNE incidents requires a thorough understanding of the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan(s) and Hazardous Materials.

Hazardous Materials Training Levels

• There are five levels of Hazardous Materials training: First Responder Awareness, First Responder Operations, Hazardous Materials Technicians, Hazardous Materials Specialist, and Hazardous Materials Incident Commander.
• First Responder Awareness level training includes four goals: R.I.P. Not
• First Responder Operations (FRO) level adds DEFENSIVE control measures to the First Responder Awareness level.
• Hazardous Materials Technicians and Specialists add OFFENSIVE control measures to the FRO level.
• Hazardous Materials Incident Commanders must be trained to at least the FRO level and be able to implement and run a Hazardous Materials Incident Command System.
• Emergency responders who are not Hazardous Material Technicians are most likely to be the first to arrive at a CBRNE incident.
• Fire Rescue must train all emergency responders to at least the First Responder Operations (FRO) level.

Response and Positioning

• Units responding to a suspected CBRNE incident must consider the Fire Rescue personnel safety when selecting the route and placement of the unit.
• The unit should always be positioned upwind and uphill of the incident.
• Maintain a safe distance from the product, in case the wind direction shifts.
• Avoid positioning the unit to only one course of action.
• Units must be positioned far enough away from the hazards to allow for a safe retreat if necessary, possibly facing the unit away from the scene.

R.I.P. Not

• R.I.P.Not stands for Recognition and Identification, Isolation, Protection, and Notification.
• R.I.P. Not is intended as a memory tool, not a step-by-step cookbook.

Recognition and Identification (First Arriving Unit)

• The first arriving unit must understand appropriate actions and resource/safety limitations with CBRNE or unidentified materials.
• Hasty or quick aggressive action has no place at a CBRNE incident and all actions must be planned and deliberate.
• Initiate an Incident Command structure early (refer to SOG 200-02 Incident Command Sequence).
• Identifying the product is a priority.
• For initial actions at a CBRNE incident, the FRO level must use the DOT Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) and Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders (WISER).
• The FRO level must remain familiar with the DOT Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) (SOG 700-02 Attachment A).
• WISER is an application program (includes ERG information) by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for use on smart phones.
• Each Fire Rescue Unit shall have an Emergency Response Guide (ERG).
• The first arriving unit should recognize and identify critical information and determine the nature of the incident (leak, spill, fire, etc.).
• Critical information includes Quick Access Survey information, Occupancy type, Product and Container information, Markings, and Paperwork (when available).
• Product information includes Hazard Classification, ERG Guide number, Product Name or CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service) Number, and Quantity.
• Container information includes type, shape, and size.
• Markings include UN Numbers and DOT placards.
• Paperwork includes shipping papers, Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), and Bill of lading.

Isolation

• FRO level personnel are to operate in Bunker gear and Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), and shall NOT come into contact with any products.
• Isolate the area without entering the immediate hazard area and ensure responder/citizen safety.
• The Incident Commander identifies the Initial Isolation Zone (based on ERG or WISER information).
• The Initial Isolation Zone becomes the Hot Zone upon product confirmation with supporting reference materials.
• The Incident Commander or Site Access Control Leader (if established) should establish an Area of Safe Refuge (ASR) for victims in need of decontamination, located immediately uphill and upwind of the Hot Zone.
• Contaminated victims should not leave the ASR until decontaminated.
• A Safe Refuge Area Manager may be established to manage victims in the ASR.
• Victims not requiring decontamination shall be directed to move away from the hazard uphill and upwind to a specific location or distance.

Protection

• Includes responders, public, property, environment, and evidence.
• Consider all devices, drums, containers, cylinders, tanks, spills, and suspicious items as dangerous until proven otherwise.
• A downwind Protective Action Zone shall be identified and evaluated to determine if victims in this area should be evacuated or protected in place.
• Law Enforcement and the reverse 911 system are to be utilized to rapidly alert potential victims and secure the Protective Action Zone.
• FRO level personnel may take DEFENSIVE actions including diking, damning, diverting, vapor suppression/diversion, fire suppression/exposure protection, emergency/technical decontamination, and remote valve shutoff activations.
• DEFENSIVE actions must be accomplished without the FRO level personnel becoming contaminated.

Notification

• The first arriving unit communicates safe response routes.
• If the incident is beyond FRO capabilities, a Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team (RHMRT) should be requested.
• The Communication Center makes response notification to the appropriate RHMRT(s).
• Pertinent information is relayed to the Communication Center and responding units as an incident unfolds.

Life Safety and Rescue Attempts

• Quick, line-of-sight Rescue attempts for viable victims may be made by FRO level personnel in the Initial Isolation Zone if ALL of the following are met:
  • There is visible movement or chest rise and fall by the victim(s).
  • The FRO level personnel are wearing full Bunker gear with SCBA.
  • A pre-connected hose line is ready prior to entry.
  • The hazard is NOT fluorine (water treatment facilities may store fluorine).
  • The FRO level personnel can be dragged out with their Drag Rescue Device.
• FRO level personnel SHALL NOT remove their SCBA prior to Decontamination.
• In no other instance shall FRO level personnel enter an Initial Isolation Zone or Hot Zone.

Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team

• If an RHMRT is needed, there shall be information exchange between the Incident Commander and the Hazardous Material Group Supervisor.
• Upon RHMRT arrival, FRO level personnel shall maintain their current course of action until the Incident Commander changes the Incident Action Plan (IAP).
• FRO level personnel may be needed to assist the RHMRT under a Hazardous Materials Technician's direction.

Hazardous Materials Technician

• Once on scene Hazardous Material Technicians shall initiate a Site Safety and Control Plan and shall perform atmospheric monitoring, product sampling, and contain/control the product in accordance with RHMRT Manual.

Acts of Terrorism and WMD

• Acts of terror utilizing Weapons of Mass Destruction are essentially CBRNE incidents with a willful intent to cause harm.
• Responders may not initially realize they are at the scene of a terror attack, and shall be mindful for secondary devices, alert for actions against responders.
• Implement PPE measures (including SCBA use), use extreme caution prior to initiating any tactical actions, and preserve evidence.
• Indicators of a terror attack include a target hazard/event location, a Credible Threat, CBRNE substances, and/or multiple/becoming victims.