Haz-Mat References— Build Your Own
DEPARTMENTS
EDITOR’S OPINION
WHILE it is usually not my style to use this space to announce the editorial content within the pages that follow, I feel that an exception must be made this month.
Soon after coming on board here, I had the unique opportunity to meet Frank Fire. Frank’s concern for fire service personnel prompted him to take some valuable time from his college instructing and lecturing assignments to introduce firefighters to real world and basic information on plastics. His articles were well received (see “Plastics—Some Facts Firefighters Should Know,” February 1984; and “Plastics and Fire Investigations,” January 1985), and he was encouraged to author a text and workbook on the practical aspects of hazardous materials (THE COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, available from Fire Engineering Books, P.O. Box 1061, Barrington, 1L 60010).
Being swept up by the selfless dedication and enthusiasm of brother fire service responders around the nation, Frank asked, “How about a series on chemicals commonly encountered by emergency response personnel?”
“Gee, that’s great, Frank,” I said, “but that’s been done before, and expertly.”
“This approach would begin with those chemicals most encountered in the emergency response sector and conclude with those less commonly found. 1 would like the responder to fill out his own data sheet by culling the facts from an informative article rather than just being bombarded with chemical and physical properties and their abbreviations that don’t give the information needed to help understand a particular hazard. The responder could make the collection of this data into a parochial reference work for his response area. He would, in effect, make his own outline from each editorially descriptive chemical presented.”
“Outstanding!” I answered.
In this issue, Frank begins with the most commonly transported, stored, manufactured, and sold hazardous material, sulfuric acid. We have also included a blank data sheet for the reader to fill in with the information he would like to record for collection. Space being dear to us (and to you), we won’t always repeat a copy of the data sheet. Therefore, I recommend that you make 12 or so copies to use with the articles that follow. This will also provide a blank side to record those directives, strategies, and standard operating procedures that pertain to the safety and abilities of your own particular department. You may also want to record cross reference material that will be available to you in your field operations.
This series will account for approximately 125 commonly found chemicals in the order of their abundance or frequency of emergency response records.
1 hope we will all learn and benefit from Frank’s dynamic presentations.
Enjoy and be safe.
