Tukwila F. D. Builds Trailer For Hazardous Incident Unit
Members of the Tukwila, Wash., Fire Department have constructed a trailer measuring 6 feet wide, 13 feet long and 6 feet high, to transport its hazardous chemical team. The unit was built to be self-sufficient at a hazardous chemicals incident. The unit contains its own generator, floodlights (both portable and elevating), mobile radio, portable radio, and a widespread assortment of equipment.
Tukwila deals with two major interstate highways, four main line railroads, three major state highways, and is in the llight path of the two commercial airports in the Seattle area. Under mutual aid agreements, the unit will respond to some Port of Seat tle facilities with King County Fire District No. 1.
The unit is designed to be towed to an incident site and all unneeded equipment and personnel can evacuate the area. This will allow the personnel handling the incident to remain on location for a long time and hopefully control the incident.
Using a telephone patch through our communication center, we can talk directly to the manufacturer or CHEMTREC without having some one repeat the message. This will increase the accuracy of the information and save valuable time.
Training program
The second phase of the program was to develop training material to assist fire fighters in handling the incident. So far, courses in identification of materials being transported, methods of transportation, protective clothing and how to use it, and transportation of radioactive materials have been given to the personnel. The classroom training has been complemented by actual hands-on training involving simulated chemical accidents. The training program covers what not to do as well as what to do. Both are equally important when working at a hazardous chemical incident.
The program began during 1977 and became a priority item with the increasing number of accidents involving large life loss in addition to property damage.
In the south part of King County, Wash., the cities of Renton, Auburn, Kent and Tukwila meet regularly in an effort to improve a joint response capacity to handle a hazardous incident. Through planning and mutual coordination, the hoped outcome of the effort result in each city sending at least two people, trained in hazardous materials handling, to the scene of any incident. This will give the officer in command of the overall incident a pool of eight trained personnel, in addition to his normal responding personnel, to handle the incident.
The Hazardous Incident Team (HIT) is designed to be a secondary response effort. The primary response will be the normal structural responses, i.e., engines, ladders and aid equipment. It will be up to these people to identify a hazardous situation, start evacuation and activate the HIT. The team will then move on location and try to contain the material until the manufacturer’s representative can remove the danger.
Equipment on trailer
Listed below is some of the equipment carried on the trailer:
5 Floodlights
2 Cord reels
22-ton come-a-longs
2 Boxes of rolled plastic
1 Set radiological monitoring equipment
1 Set gas plugs
2 30-lb A-B-C dry chemical extinguishers
2 30-lb Class D dry powder extinguishers
2 2 ½-gallon pressurized water extinguishers
1 Large first aid kit
6 Pairs goggles
12 Acid suits
3 Radiation protection suits
4 Hard hats
4 Safety vests
10 Traffic cones
8 Rolls of surveyor’s tape (used to secure and mark off areas)
150 Gallons of AFFF concentrate, plus 100 gallons in reserve at Station 51
25 Gallons of alcohol AFFF concentrate, plus 25 gallons in reserve at Station 51
25 Gallons of protein foam, plus or minus 50 gallons in reserve at Station 51
25 Gallons of high expansion foam, plus 25 gallons in reserve at Station 51 1 High expansion foam nozzle
3 Cans of chemical tank sealer
6 Nomex flash hoods
4 4-Hour breathing apparatus
4 30-Minute breathing apparatus with 8 bottles
300 pounds of soda ash
100 Feet of %-inch garden hose
1 150-gpm portable pump
1 Chlorine kit
1 Extensive reference library
Assortment: Shovels, mops, buckets, rags, cleaning materials, plastic bags, rope, chain, cable, tarps, hand lights, etc.
AFFF on engines
In addition to the above equipment, each engine carries 20 gallons of AFFF concentrate with eductors, four 30minute breathing apparatus, a reference library and tool kits.
The trailer has a main frame of steel and aluminum covering. The paint is lime-yellow, to give greater visibility and also set it out from our other equipment. The construction took approximately three months and cost $1300. Under the direction of Lieutenant McFarland, . the design met the needs indicated in a survey of over 300 hazardous chemical incidents from all parts of the country.
If a department has no other training, it should train its people how to identify toxic substances and how to effect immediate evacuations. It will be the wise fire department that stays away when in doubt, gets all the population to safety, and leaves the incident alone until trained personnel can arrive and neutralize the incident.
