In 1982, the Department created its Hazardous Materials Response Program with the purchase of its first squad, assigned to Fire Station 87 in the City of Industry. A second squad was soon placed into service at Fire Station 105 in the City of Carson. The program was created in response to various federal, state and local mandates specific to providing protection to industrial workers and the community at large. In 1986, a third squad was placed into service at Fire Station 76 in the City of Santa Clarita. This expansion created a uniform response capability. In 1991, the Los Angeles County Health Department transferred its Health Hazardous Materials Division to the Fire Department. Working together, now the Department could provide mitigation efforts from responding HazMat squads, as well as timely remediation efforts directed by Health Hazardous Materials Division officers. In 2003, the Hazardous Materials Unit merged into the Department’s Homeland Security Section to further enhance and integrate operations. This year, Hazardous Materials Squad 130 was placed into service in the City of Lancaster; a new version of the Metropolitan Incident Response Vehicle (MIRV) will be placed into frontline service to further expand the Department’s response capability.

LA County HAZMAT squad 105 in the City of Carson. The squads are placed at select fire stations throughout the county and are numbered after the fire house they are assigned to. Thus since this HAZMAT squad is placed at Fire Station 105 it is numbered 105.

The LA County HAZMAT team heavily perfers the tractor trailer type of vehicle to use as a personnel and equipment transport as well as a mobile command post.