Firefighters train for hazardous materials

Firefighters train for hazardous materials » DC-U photo/Alissa Paolella

Firefighters with Pitt Township Volunteer Fire Department participated in a hazardous chemical drill Thursday at 17249 CH 119, Harpster. Wyandot County Emergency Management Agency Director Rodger Brodman said the drill included four objectives: incident assessment, incident command, response personnel safety and population. The drill included a simulated area for contaminated individuals and a waterline running into a field for hosing down simulated vapors, as firefighters would break up the vapors in an attempt to keep them from entering the village of Harpster in the case of an emergency. Brodman said the firefighters then would consider evacuating residents. The drills are conducted at least once per year, Brodman said, as part of funding requirements from the State Emergency Response Commission. Because the wind was blowing south into the building, simulated fog was not used in this exercise. Along with Pitt Township firefighters and Wyandot County EMA, the Wyandot County Sheriff’s Office also participated in the drill. Representatives from the Marion and Crawford county EMAs also served as evaluators. Following the drill, the crews went to the fire department for discussion about what went right and wrong, how firefighters felt about the experience and what evaluators saw.

Brodman (from left), Wyandot County Environmental Health Director Jeff Ritchey and Pitt Township Fire Chief Doug Reinschell observe the hazardous chemical drill.

Posted by Daily Chief on June 22, 2012. Filed under Featured,Local News,Recent Headlines,Recent Pictures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry