HazMat

Introduction

Hazardous materials (HazMat) incidents can range from minor chemical spills to major industrial accidents. For Fire and EMS responders, understanding how to recognize, respond to, and manage these events is critical for public and personal safety. This resource provides some guidance and tools to support frontline responders during HazMat emergencies. It is assumed that any reader has training to at least the Awareness level.

Hazards

Hazardous materials can be found on-site and are transported over the road, by rail, or via pipeline. Check out the map below for what rail or pipelines carry hazardous materials near you.

Yellow: rail
Blue: natural gas pipeline
Black: petrochemical pipeline

NOTE: Features have been simplified for the map, so what you see is not exact.

https://globalenergymonitor.org/projects/global-oil-infrastructure-tracker/tracker-map/
National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS)

ResponD

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

• 715-261-7900 WAUSAU HAZMAT team—call with questions, or to activate the team. Depending on what you need, they may send a small team or activate the whole team and send a command trailer.

• 1-800-424-9300 IDENTIFY the chemical, determine actions, and more through CHEMTREC

• 1-800-222-1222 TREAT someone who has been exposed to the chemical thru Poison Control (access online if not emergent)

• 1-800-943-0003 REPORT SPILL to WI DNR (the party responsible for the spill should report it)

• 1-800-465-9239 REPORT RAIL INCIDENT to CN to activate their emergency response team, stop/reroute rail traffic, and more (CN is the only rail provider in Marathon County).

• 1-770-488-7100 Large-scale event, unidentifiable substance, or suspect bioterrorism? Call the CDC EOC.

• 1-800-424-8802 Report a spill to the EPA National Response Center. 

RAILWAY

Rail cars carrying hazardous material will have placards like you see on truck trailers. If you are called to a railway incident, look for the Emergency Notification Sign at the nearest crossing. Call the number and give them the DOT crossing number as a point of reference. Our area is serviced by CN (emergency number 1-800-465-9239).

Visit CN's Dangerous Goods website for online training courses, information to coordinate in-person training, and request a Commodity Flow report for the hazardous material transported through your community so that you can train and plan accordingly.

Download and register yourself with the AskRail app for digital access to consist and load information.

Facts to consider:

• Most rail incidents happen at crossings or are related to trespassing.

• About 9% of product transported by rail is considered hazardous.

• Trains are wider than the tracks—stay 25 feet away from tracks, and a minimum of 4 feet away if you need to be closer.

• It's difficult to fully empty a car. An "empty" car may still have thousands of pounds of product in it.

In an incident:

• Try to find the crew first. The conductor is in charge of the train and should have a consist (list of the train cars and what they're carrying).

• Unified command between fire and the rail response team is critical.

• Extricating a victim from a locomotive will likely be a technical rescue. There is very little space, the doors are narrow, and the windows are bulletproof.

• Utilities often follow train lines, so be aware of hazards overhead and underground.

PIPELINE

https://pipelineawareness.org

https://apps.cer-rec.gc.ca/PPS/en/pipeline-profiles/southern-lights#5

https://www.oneok.com/public-awareness/public-awareness-and-pipeline-safety/magellan-information

training

For each of the following, a responder is expected to take the initial course, and to participate in refresher training every year. SPS330 references the OSHA standard. Annually, responders should either have refresher training, or documented continued competency.

AWARENESS

Training sufficient to demonstrate competency in recognizing hazardous substances and initiating an emergency response sequence. May work only in the cold zone.

• EM, HM-100: HazMat Awareness (8h)

• EM, HM-101: HazMat Awareness Refresher (4h)

• EM, HM-101E: HazMat Essentials (8h)

OPERATIONS

Focused on defensive response actions to protect people and the environment. May work in the warm zone. Certified HazMat Operations is typically taken with Firefighter I.

• EM, HM-200: HazMat First Responder Operations (24h)

• EM, HM-201: HazMat First Responder Operations Refresher (4h)

TECHNICIAN

Trained at the operations level, plus additional training to actively respond to releases. Technicians may work in the hot zone.

• EM, REACT - HM-T HMEP: HMEP Hazardous Materials Technician (40h)

• EM, HM-301: HazMat Emergency Response Technician (IFSTA) Refresher