Hazardous Materials Incident Procedures PDF

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS INCIDENT PROCEDURES PURPOSE The purpose of these procedures are to establish safe and uniform guidelines for the confinement and control of hazardous materials with the objective of saving lives and property. Also preventing the unnecessary exposure to onscene personnel (fire fi...

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS INCIDENT PROCEDURES PURPOSE The purpose of these procedures are to establish safe and uniform guidelines for the confinement and control of hazardous materials with the objective of saving lives and property. Also preventing the unnecessary exposure to onscene personnel (fire fighters and police officers) and civilians from adverse effects of the hazardous material shall be of paramount importance. POLICY The City of Miami Department of Fire-Rescue, when dealing with hazardous materials, shall limit its responsibility to the isolation and stabilization of the material(s) involved. AUTHORITY The authority to mitigate hazardous material emergency incidents is vested within the position of Fire Chief or designee by Florida State Statute 125.01, Sections 4.01 the City of Miami Charter and Department of Fire-Rescue Regulations Article 2, Section A, #5 Page 1. RESPONSIBILITY All personnel shall familiarize themselves with and conform to these procedures. All Department Officers and Supervisors shall supervise and command their subordinates in conformance with these procedures. A. The Alarm Office (AO) will dispatch the Hazardous Materials Response Team (HZMT) and notify identified appropriate staff personnel to all emergency incidents involving hazardous materials, including, but not limited to, the following: Ammonia leaks, chlorine leaks or spills (L/S), other chemical L/S, train accidents or derailments, aircraft accidents, petroleum fuel (L/S), radiological accidents, building collapses, ship fires, fumigated buildings, WMD/CBRNE or other incidents where the AO, FCIO, on-scene or responding units deem they may be needed or of assistance. B. All incidents initially dispatched as hazardous materials will be considered high risk until confirmed otherwise by on-scene units. 4/2/2013 EOM / Article 3 / Section 15 Page 1 C. All hazardous materials operations shall be conducted in accordance with the following eight (8) step incident management procedure: 1. Isolate the area and deny entry of all personnel until material(s) have been identified. 2. Identify material(s) and convey this information to all personnel at risk. 3. Evaluate hazards and risk(s) utilizing data collected by the information and reconnaissance portions. 4. Coordinate information and resources with HAZ-MAT response team members (HZMT), the Incident Commander (IC) and EMS/Rescue personnel. 5. Choose/Select protective clothing and equipment appropriate and necessary for the material involved within the HOT ZONE and WARM ZONES 6. Control/Confine material(s) involved by developing the appropriate offensive or defensive tactics. 7. Decontaminate exposed personnel, victims and civilians. Isolate contaminated equipment for further evaluation. 8. Terminate (debrief/document/critique) - debrief any exposed personnel and document exposure times for each. Perform post-incident analysis (critique) as soon as practical after termination of the incident. D. First responder personnel (units) will avoid committing themselves to a hazardous position. When approaching the incident scene, they shall slow down or stop, depending on available information and cautiously assess the situation. This assessment shall include evaluation of any visible activity in the area, effects of wind (FCIO can call the U.S. Weather Service), topography, location of the problem, etc. To ensure adequate control and maximum safety of personnel responding to a hazardous material(s) incident, all incoming units (except first arriving, HZMT, and Command Officer) shall be staged at a safe location (upwind and uphill) from the incident scene. 4/2/2013 EOM / Article 3 / Section 15 Page 2 The first arriving Officer shall utilize the Incident Command System (ICS), establish an initial Command Post (CP) and supervise safe hazard assessment. Command will designate a safe (upwind and uphill) Staging Area and advise AO and incoming units of its location. The first arriving company will initiate the first two steps of the HAZ-MAT Incident Procedure when safely possible: 1. ISOLATE the area and deny entry to public and non-essential personnel by establishing and identifying a perimeter. A. Set up barrier tape, picket lines, traffic cones, etc. B. Use personnel, police officers, security guards, etc., to assist in establishing the perimeter if safely possible. C. Advise the Incident Commander and Alarm Office of the isolation perimeter location. 2. IDENTIFY the material(s) involved if safely possible. A. Determine the location of victims and evacuation routes. B. Reference the D.O.T. Emergency Response Guidebook (orange/yellow) and N.F.P.A. Fire Protection Guide on Hazardous Materials (white/gray/blue) in your apparatus cab to assist with collecting pertinent information. C. Determine type, quantity and status of material(s) involved. D. Collect/Secure all available documents (shipping papers, etc.) E. All information collected shall be given to the IC and HMT in person, or via radio if they are still en route. F. Perform other tasks or assignments from IC. 4/2/2013 EOM / Article 3 / Section 15 Page 3 E. Hazardous Materials Team shall respond and coordinate information, resources, and activities with first arriving unit and Incident Commander. The initial hazard and risk assessment shall be completed utilizing any specialized resource, equipment or training available to the Hazardous Materials Team. The Hazardous Materials Team will complete the following tasks as soon as safely possible: 1. VERIFY that isolation areas and entry denial has been established and identified. 2. IDENTIFY a11 materials involved considering: A. Occupancy/Location B. Container shape(s), size, position, etc. C. Visible placards/labels, colors or markings D. Secure and review any documents, shipping papers, manifests, bills of lading, etc. E. Observation of visible incident scene activity. 3. EVALUATE the hazard and make a risk assessment considering the following: A. Current status of the materials(s) involved, their characteristics, properties, etc. B. Condition of the material(s) container(s). C. Environmental conditions, wind direction/speed, topography, etc. D. Exposures, active or potential, to civilians, other emergency personnel, structures, property, environment, etc. E. Compare resources available to the problem at hand. F. Estimate likely harm/damage without active Fire Department intervention. G. Establish appropriate Hazard Zones perimeters. 4/2/2013 EOM / Article 3 / Section 15 Page 4 NOTE: At this point, determine if on-scene or available Miami units can handle the situation, if not, request mutual aid activation (Miami-Dade County or Hialeah Fire Department Hazardous Materials Response Teams). If the situation is within on-scene or available Miami units ability, then continue with the eight (8) step incident management procedure. 4. COORDINATE collection and interpretation of all available information regarding the product, material, container, conditions, etc., with efficient dissemination to the IC and EMS/Rescue personnel involved is essential for development of proper strategy and tactical options. 5. CHOOSE/SELECT appropriate protective clothing required for the hazards and properties of the involved materials. The following levels of protection shall be employed by the Department of Fire-Rescue HZMT personnel, as appropriate. NOTE: Full personal protective clothing (bunker gear, helmets, gloves and boots) with positive pressure SCBA shall be the minimum for HOT ZONE operations, until recommendations for increased PPE are issued. A.) LEVEL A- FULLY ENCAPSULATING CLOTHING: Covers the whole body. It provides a barrier for solids, liquids and vapors. High Chemical protection. Maximum Respiratory protection (SCBA or SABA).Suit is the Trelleborg/Trellchem Level A suit, carried by Miami HZMT. B.) LEVEL B – NON-ENCAPSULATING CLOTHING: Specialized clothing which, when used in conjunction with air supplied respiratory protection devices (SCBA or SABA) offers an integral level of full body protection from hostile environment. Level B equipment is used with products that are not as hazardous to skin as those requiring Level A. Level B respiratory protection still provides the maximum level of respiratory protection due to the extreme respiratory hazard that is presented by the product. Typical suit use is Saranex. C.) LEVEL C - NON-ENCAPSULATlNG CLOTHING: Difference between Level B and C is degree of respiratory protection. Same suit use as Level B. In Level C the minimal respiratory protection is provided by an Air Purifying Respirator(APR) or Powered Air Purifying Respirator(PAPR). 4/2/2013 EOM / Article 3 / Section 15 Page 5 D.) LEVEL D –LOWEST LEVEL OF PROTECTION: STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTING GEAR: Level D is not to be exposed to any Hazardous Materials, known or unknown. Initial Hot Zone operations should be limited to Life Safety issues and Safety Isolation Zones (Hot, Warm and Cold) 6. CONTROL/CONFINE material(s) using basic spillage and leakage control measures or plugging, diking or container position adjustment while utilizing appropriate protective clothing and following acceptable handling techniques. Offensive Techniques are perform by HZMT only. All other Miami Fire personnel perform Defensive Techniques 7. DECONTAMINATION, as necessary and then only related to emergency services personnel and civilians with appropriate transportation to hospital facilities for treatment. Proper decontamination of equipment may be conducted with possible equipment isolation for later evaluation. The Department of Fire-Rescue will not involve personnel in or with the decontamination of the incident scene. This shall be determined as necessary by non-emergency service related agencies of the County, State or Federal Government, i.e., Miami-Dade County Department of Environments Resources Management (D.E.R.M.), Florida Department of Environmental Protection(DEP), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.), or the United States Coast Guard (U.S.C.G.). 8. TERMINATION shall include and involve all Fire Department personnel as related to debriefing those participating in on-scene activities, documenting those activities in the required Report Management System (RMS) and advising those involved as to effects of exposure, properties of materials, etc. An incident critique shall be planned and conducted within a reasonable period of time (one tour of duty) and proper follow-up of all persons hospitalized or treated for exposure to materials involved. Any examinations or testing conducted on individuals should be recorded as base-line for that person or compared to any base-line previously established and properly recorded. F. Hazard Zones consist of three (3) perimeters (zones) that shall be established by the Incident Commander at working hazardous materials emergencies. The Hazardous Materials Team Officer in Charge (OIC) or Hazardous Materials Sector Officer shall provide the necessary technical opinion to assist the IC in determining the zone boundaries. The shape and dimensions of the hazard zones shall depend upon such factors as magnitude of the problem, wind direction and velocity, surrounding topography and/or adjacent structures, etc. 4/2/2013 EOM / Article 3 / Section 15 Page 6 1. HOT ZONE - (High Hazard) will encompass the immediate danger area surrounding the problem site. The HOT ZONE shall be constantly monitored and only entered by Hazardous Materials trained and properly protected personnel or individuals possessing particular knowledge of the problem/situation. During actual operations, a backup team (minimum of two personnel) with appropriate protection will be positioned in the WARM ZONE at the entrance area into the HOT ZONE. ALL HOT ZONE activities will be directly supervised by the Hazardous Material Team OIC. 2. WARM ZONE - (Potential Hazard) will include the area surrounding the HOT ZONE and is an area which presents a minimum hazard to Department personnel. This area will be restricted to personnel properly protected and assigned by the Incident Commander (IC). 3. COLD ZONE - (No Hazard) is the area around the WARM ZONE which presents no hazard to emergency services personnel and equipment. This area is reserved for emergency service functions only, i.e., Command Post (CP), Triage, agency liaison, news media, etc. G. Hot Zone Operations 1. Non-Fire Department personnel may be required at certain hazardous materials incidents and used as technical and manufacturer representatives, etc., These persons assist with hazard evaluation and/or may perform specific functions inside the HOT ZONE. Such operations will only be conducted with the knowledge and approval of the IC and will be under the direct supervision of the Hazardous Materials Team OIC. 2. The levels of protective clothing worn within HOT and WARM ZONES are specified by the Hazardous Materials Team OIC. 3. The IC designated Safety Officer shall be positioned in the WARM ZONE near the entry point into the HOT ZONE. 4. There should be two (2) two-person teams designated, Entry One, the "primary entry team" and Entry Two, the "backup team." Entry two shall remain in the WARM ZONE at the entrance into the HOT ZONE as discussed earlier in the HOT ZONE Section F.,1. 4/2/2013 EOM / Article 3 / Section 15 Page 7 5. Hazardous Material Team OIC shall fully brief both teams prior to entry into the HOT ZONE as to expected conditions, goals, objectives, decontamination, etc. Emergency procedures shall be reviewed before each HOT ZONE entry as the situation warrants. 6. Inside structure hazardous materials operations warrant complete HOT ZONE searches for data collection and reconnaissance (recon). 7. All personnel on the scene must remain alert for possible member distress while in protective clothing, indicated by both arms raised directly above the head. H. Decontamination (Decon) 1. A Decon Officer shall be assigned and designated as "Decon" by the Hazardous Materials Team OIC and/or Hazardous Materials Section Officer. 2. Prior to commitment of personnel and equipment to the HOT ZONE, the HAZ-MAT Sector Officer, HMT-OIC and Decon shall determine whether or not available decontamination resources will be adequate for the material(s) involved. 3. If inadequate, a no-intervention course of action may be indicated. 4. If resources are judged to be suitable, preparation of the decon area should commence prior to HOT ZONE entry. 5. The Decon Officer shall also serve as the Hazardous Materials Team Liaison to the Medical Sector Officer on the scene. 4/2/2013 EOM / Article 3 / Section 15 Page 8