Hazmat teams teach firefighters to stay safe

When an alcohol-based paint caused a spontaneous combustion fire at Materials Transportation Company Wednesday night, Temple Fire Department’s hazardous materials team responded. They suited up, isolated the area and traced the cause to the paint.

Earlier Wednesday the team was at a training course at the Bell County Expo Center led by the regional response team of the Killeen, Lampasas and Temple fire departments, which covers seven counties. The training was part of a four-day 16-hour course to familiarize smaller and volunteer departments with hazmat recognition, equipment and decontamination station setup.

The need for hazmat training used to be a lesser priority reserved for large departments, but like many things, it changed after Sept. 11, 2001. Now, a mysterious white powder mailed in a letter becomes a possible anthrax incident and hazmat teams are the only ones skilled, equipped and allowed to handle toxic situations. After Sept. 11, 2001, the federal government increased funding to provide departments with technology that was previously unaffordable, said Scott Tippen with the Temple Fire Department. Now Temple is equipped to handle everything from small chemical or fuel spills to a massive train derailment.

Killeen fire department has comparable equipment, and Thursday night firefighters demonstrated their hazmat suits to Little River- Academy and Holland fire departments.

“It’s good for them to know what to expect when we come over. You’d be surprised how many people don’t even know you can call for a hazmat team,” Killeen fire Lt. Randy Pearson said.

Killeen hazmat responded to a mysterious chemical found in a gas can under a Nolanville bridge in 2008; a liquid oxygen spill on Roy Reynolds and Rancier Avenue; and an explosive “chlorine bomb,” chlorine enclosed in a bottle, constructed by a teenager in Lampasas, Pearson said.

Approximately 85 students from 14 fire departments, the Killeen police department and Scott & White Hospital attended the courses put on by the Bell County Fire Chiefs Association and Texas Engineering Extension Service.
By Victor O’Brien, The Killeen Daily Herald