The Social Network & Community JUST for Firefighters
Hazmat entry team/back up team
I am working on a project and I could use input from fellow fire people. Here is the scenario:
1. Hazmat team has 4 hazmat techs on duty everyday. If one calls in sick does the team stay in service, or go out of service? No backfill available for the ill hazmat tech.
2. Could a First Responder Operational firefighter pinch hit on the backup team for the missing hazmat tech? The back up team would be sole fuction with a rescue mission only, no other incident duties but rescue. In fact, could the entry team be hazmat techs and the backup team be FRO?
I would say NO! But I need to reference my anwer. I went though NFPA 472 already and I am heading for 1910.120. Some into from the bruddahs and sistahs in fireland would be great.
Art
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
-
If you expect the team to do any actual Hot Zone Entry, the backup team must be qualified at the same level as the entry team.
A comparison would be to ask if you have three firefighters and one non-firefighter, and to ask if that group of 4 people meets the firefighting "2-In, 2-Out" rule.
For a hazmat team to be really legal to do Hot Zone entry, you need at least 7 hazmat techs - a Team Leader, a Safety Officer, 2 for the entry team, 2 for the backup team, and one as the Decon Officer. The Decon Group can be staffed with Operations-level providers, but they should be supervised by a hazmat tech.
-
Permalink Reply by Jason Brooks on
-
We have mutual aid agreements with other area Hazmat teams. But, the straight answer to your question is NO!
-
Permalink Reply by Art on
-
Ben, the fire chief wants me to reference this. I have a copy of OSHA 1910.120 but I did not locate anything saying 7 techs must be on scene before offensive actions can be taken. I did locate the 7-hazmat tech rule in the Dept of Defense Instruction 6055.6. Do you know where I can find the law/rule that states the required staffing for city, county, and local district fire departments?
-
Permalink Reply by FETC on
-
Hey can you stop and pickup some yahoo on the corner and have him act as a Paramedic if your ambulance is short staffed tonight? Probably not...
Without referencing any standard, the answer is NO. To be honest, if your chief is trying to run a hazmat incident with just the 4 on duty techs, you are asking for trouble. He is probably not one himself, and who is testing your suits before they are donned? The entry team themselves? A full blown response needs more than just 4 techs.
You should be calling in a first alarm hazmat for your entire off duty members, assemble the techs and fill out the positions as Ben mentions and then staff all the other operational sectors with the ops/decon trained members. Everyone of the off duty guys, the apparatus and the equipment used is billable to the spiller.
Your 4 or 3 "on duty" members would be best used as a fast response "recon" squad. Respond to the scene and determine the severity of the hazardous situation, then request a partial team/equipment or full blown response which should be the rest of the department trained hazmat members.
-
-
If you have the OSHA 1910.120 training materials, you'll find that you need that breakdown in order to actually meet the standard. It may not spell it out in a short summary the way I did, but think about it...
Incident Commander - does not have to be a Hazmat Tech, but should have at least operations-level hazmat training and be a qualified IC.
Hazmat Branch Director/Team Leader - If you're commanding a hazmat team, you better be qualified to do it before you command it.
Safety Officer - It is very unlikely that you'll be an effective Safety Officer if you don't have hazmat technician qualifications to help you recognize the hazards, particularly chemical hazards.
Decon Officer - Remember that many hazmat skills can be carried out by operations-level responders, but they need to be supervised by a technician. That's why the Decon Officer should be a technician.
Two task-level technicians - Entry Team
Two task-level technicians - Backup Team
It's also a good idea to have a technician as the Science Officer, and if the incident is a little larger of more comples, you can use additional techs for multiple entry teams, a Recon team, and an Entry Officer to directly supervise the Entry and Backup teams.
That said, the local AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) sets the standards for Hazmat Team staffing, SOGs, tactics, etc. OSHA, the NFPA, and other alphabet-soup groups do not tell you how to staff your team, how to write specific SOGs, or specifically how to operate it.
Do what you think will work for you, but have at least the 7 minimum.
You REALLY don't want to be in a Hot Zone in a Level A suit with an IC and Hazmat Branch Director that don't understand Technician-level hazards and problems.
-
-
I agree on the 7 techs. lets see what I can pull off. I have a hunch mutual aid is going to factor in when I present these numbers. "Science Officer?" I think we call that our Tech/Ref out west, short for Technical Reference.
Thanks Ben, or as we say Mahalo!
© 2024 Created by Firefighter Nation WebChief.
Powered by
