Twelve Fort Belvoir firefighters earned their certification as hazardous materials technicians last week, taking the fire department a step closer to its goal of being able to immediately contain any hazardous material situation on post without calling on outside agencies.
According to fire department Capt. Bill Durrett, the installation was ordered by the Military District of Washington (MDW) to train enough personnel to be self-sufficient in hazardous materials response. The mandate was issued as a result of security concerns following the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
Belvoir plans to stand up its hazardous materials team by Aug. 31.
According to Durrett, additional funding for training and equipment was provided by MDW.
"We received $40,500 through MDW, plus another $15,000 in equipment being transferred to us," Durrett said. "We have used the money to order equipment, such as protective clothing, tool kits to plug leaks, and decontamination gear."
Since the department did not purchase a dedicated hazardous materials vehicle, the team will use a vehicle already in the fire department inventory.
Durrett, the principal trainer for the certification course, said the installation already has 12 firefighters certified as hazardous materials technicians, and the addition of this week's graduates gives the department enough certified manpower to establish a hazardous materials team.
"Two of us, (Belvoir firefighter) David Orsi and myself, went to DOD [Department of Defense] training to become certified as instructors," he said. "We trained one class earlier this year."
THE 80-HOUR certification course covers a wide range of hazardous materials emergencies, including gas leaks, spills and rescues. The course also teaches students how to research unknown substances to determine hazard levels and respond appropriately.
The final exam for the certification course was a hands-on exercise involving a simulated hazardous materials emergency. In the scenario, a 150-pound orange cylinder in the back of a pickup truck develops a leak, and the vehicle's driver is found lying unconscious or dead outside the truck.
The challenge for the students is to determine the type of gas leaking, determine the status of the victim, take appropriate protective measures, recover the victim and seal the leak.
"In this scenario, the students determined that the victim was already dead, so the priority became sealing the leak," said Orsi, while watching the students step around the "body" to place a clamp over the hole in the cylinder. "Had the victim been alive, removing him would have been the priority."
According to Durrett, the hazardous materials team's job ends once the immediate threat is contained. "Our concern is the immediate safety of people and property," he said. "We control and contain the threat until the Environmental Office can step in and arrange for cleanup."
Richard M. Arndt works in the Fort Belvoir Public Affairs Office.