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What Would You Do? -Suspicious Item
You are the company officer on a jump company engine with a crew of three. The dispatcher calls you on the phone and tells you she’s received a report from a passer-by of a “suspicious-looking bottle” lying in the ditch in a rural portion of your response district. You tell her that you and your crew will head out and check on it.
After you arrive in the area, you begin your search of the ditch line, looking for a plastic bottle with a bright blue liquid in it. After a few moments, you find it and take a closer look.
It’s a clear two-liter pop bottle about 2/3 full of a bright blue liquid. Not Gatorade blue, but even “brighter”. You notice there’s no label on the bottle, but evidence that there had been at one time as it appears a paper label had been removed. There is a non-descript white twist cap closing up the bottle. Nothing else is nearby that would not otherwise be found in a roadway ditch.
It seems like the next call is yours here. What would you do with this incident?
After you arrive in the area, you begin your search of the ditch line, looking for a plastic bottle with a bright blue liquid in it. After a few moments, you find it and take a closer look.
It’s a clear two-liter pop bottle about 2/3 full of a bright blue liquid. Not Gatorade blue, but even “brighter”. You notice there’s no label on the bottle, but evidence that there had been at one time as it appears a paper label had been removed. There is a non-descript white twist cap closing up the bottle. Nothing else is nearby that would not otherwise be found in a roadway ditch.
It seems like the next call is yours here. What would you do with this incident?
Add a Comment
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Comment by FETC on January 7, 2010 at 10:04pm
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I would arrive with my 3 man jump engine company. (we cross man multi-pieces) We are FF/Medic/Hazmat Techs.
I would determine the wind direction, position the piece upwind, uphill. Order my tech to set up a fresh air set-up on our 4 gas PID meter. Attempt to locate the caller, interview the nosey old bag who lives nearby. Have the guys monitor the air around the "suspicious" pop bottle for anything off gassing. Monitor the 4 gas O2, CO, H2S and LEL. The meter is a PID so we are also looking at low amounts VOC's as well. No readings, we would then go to PH paper next from the kit. If we have anything we are calling our own hazmat team coordinator to respond to the scene. We have the capability of taking a "field sample" and running it through our own Smith ID machine. We identify and then determine the need for fullblown hazmat team response.
That is being fiscally responsible for a non-determined spillee.... soda pop bottle.
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Comment by FireDaily.com on January 7, 2010 at 1:54pm
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Sorry, it's rather teh norm out by us. We're a group of three cross-trained firefighter/paramedics at a station housing at least an engine or quint, and an ALS ambo. Whatever type of call we get, we jump over to that apparatus leaving the other unmanned. Saves the taxpayers money, but doesn't do much in the area of staffing. And we're constantly moving our bunker gear around the floor...
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Hey I understand you are in the top ten bloggers but what is a jump company engine???
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Comment by lutan1 on January 6, 2010 at 6:18pm
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Toula: I woke up with this huge zit this morning.
Ian: Where?
Toula: [points to spot on face] There.
Ian: I had a huge zit this morning!
Toula: Really? Where?
Ian: [points to his face] Well, it was there, but it's gone now.
Toula: Why?
Ian: I put some Windex on it.
Me? I'd collect it and market it to all the Greeks as the great Windex cure-all....
If there's no side-effects, then all is good. ;-)
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Comment by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on January 5, 2010 at 3:20pm
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I was thinking the same thing George.
Fill up the window washer reservior on the rig.
Seriously, though; if we respond, find the item, then it is our scene until the AHJ is determined.
HazMat could test to see if it is acid or alkali and if neither, then remove it and hold for disposal. The problem is ownership. If it can't be determined, then the taxpayers will have to pick of the tab for packing and disposing costs.
OR, you make an anonymous call to DOT telling them that you saw someone throw a big bottle of blue stuff in their ditch.
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Comment by George A. Laiacona III on January 5, 2010 at 2:20pm
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I'd call it a potential hazmat situation and call in the hazmat team. Sounds kind of like window cleaner, though.
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