Title: Essentials of Fire Fighting and Fire Department Operations,
1- Essentials of Fire Fighting and Fire Department
Operations, - 5th Edition
Chapter 23 Operations at Haz Mat
Incidents Firefighter I
2Chapter 23 Lesson Goal
- After completing this lesson, the student shall
be able to summarize the basic operations at haz
mat and terrorist incidents and perform emergency
decontamination and defensive procedures
following the policies and procedures set forth
by the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ).
3Specific Objectives
- 1. Summarize incident priorities for all haz mat
and terrorist incidents. - 2. Discuss the management structure at haz mat
or terrorist incidents. - 3. Describe the problem-solving stages at haz
mat and terrorist incidents.
(Continued)
4Specific Objectives
- 4. Explain how the strategic goal of isolation
and scene control is achieved. - 5. Explain how the strategic goal of
notification is achieved.
(Continued)
5Specific Objectives
- 6. Explain how the strategic goal of ensuring
the safety of responders and the public is
achieved. - 7. Summarize general guidelines for
decontamination operations. - 8. Describe the three types of decontamination.
(Continued)
6Specific Objectives
- 9. Discuss implementing decontamination.
- 10. Discuss rescue at haz mat incidents.
- 11. Explain how the strategic goal of spill
control and confinement is achieved.
(Continued)
7Specific Objectives
- 12. Discuss crime scene management and evidence
preservation. - 13. Explain actions taken during the recovery
and termination phase of a haz mat or terrorist
incident. - 14. Perform emergency decontamination. (Skill
Sheet 23-I-1)
(Continued)
8Specific Objectives
- 15. Perform defensive control functions
Absorption. (Skill Sheet 23-I-2) - 16. Perform defensive control functions
Diking. (Skill Sheet 23-I-3) - 17. Perform defensive control functions
Damming. (Skill Sheet 23-I-4)
(Continued)
9Specific Objectives
- 18. Perform defensive control functions
Diversion. (Skill Sheet 23-I-5) - 19. Perform defensive control functions
Retention. (Skill Sheet 23-I-6)
(Continued)
10Specific Objectives
- 20. Perform defensive control functions
Dilution. (Skill Sheet 23-I-7) - 21. Perform defensive control functions Vapor
dispersion. (Skill Sheet 23-I-8)
11Incident Priorities
- Life safety
- Incident stabilization
- Protection of property
12Management Structure
- Firefighters will initiate/operate within their
standard incident command system at haz mat
incidents may be some differences from other
incidents - Firefighters must operate in accordance with
predetermined procedures
(Continued)
13Management Structure
- According to 29 CFR 1910.120, Hazardous Waste
Operations and Emergency Response, all
organizations that respond to haz mat incidents
are required to have an emergency response plan
14Four Elements of Problem-Solving, Decision-Making
Models
- Information gathering, input, analysis stage
- Processing and/or planning stage
- Implementation or output stage
- Review or evaluation stage
15Analyzing the Situation
Courtesy of Tom Clawson, Technical Resources
Group, Inc.
16Planning Appropriate Response
- Strategic goals and tactical objectives
- Modes of operation
- Incident action plans
17Implementing the IAP
- After strategic goals have been selected and IAP
formulate, the IC can implement the plan - Strategic goals are met by achieving tactical
objectives - Tactical objectives accomplished or conducted by
performing specific tasks
18Reviewing or Evaluating Progress
- Final aspect of problem-solving process
- If IAP is effective, IC should receive favorable
progress and incident should begin to stabilize
(Continued)
19Reviewing or Evaluating Progress
- If mitigation efforts failing or situation
getting worse, plan must be reevaluated and
possibly revised - Plan must be reevaluated as new information
becomes available/circumstances change
(Continued)
20Reviewing or Evaluating Progress
- If initial plan not working, must be changed by
selecting new strategies or changing tactics used
to achieve
21Isolation and Scene Control
- One of primary strategic goals at haz mat
incidents one of most important means by which
responders can ensure safety of themselves/others - Separating people from potential source of harm
necessary to protect life safety of all
(Continued)
22Isolation and Scene Control
- Necessary to prevent spread of hazardous
materials through cross contamination - Isolation involves physically securing/maintaining
emergency scene by establishing isolation
perimeters and denying entry to unauthorized
persons
23Isolation Perimeter
- Boundary established to prevent access by public
and unauthorized persons - May be established before the type of
incident/attack is positively identified
(Continued)
24Isolation Perimeter
- If incident is inside a building, isolation
perimeter might be set at outside entrance,
accomplished by posting personnel to deny entry
(Continued)
25Isolation Perimeter
- If incident is outside, perimeter might be set at
surrounding intersections with response
vehicles/law enforcement officers diverting
traffic and pedestrians
(Continued)
26Isolation Perimeter
- Isolation perimeter can be expanded/reduced as
needed used to control both access and egress
from scene
(Continued)
27Isolation Perimeter
- Law enforcement officers are often used to
establish and maintain isolation perimeters - Once hazard-control zones are established,
isolation perimeter is generally considered to be
boundary between public and cold (safe) zone
28Hazard-Control Zones
29Additional Zones
- Additional areas may be required
- Decontamination zone
- Area of safe refuge
- Staging area
- Rehabilitation area
- Triage/treatment area
30Notification Process
- Emergency response plans must ensure responders
understand their role in notification processes
and predetermined procedures
(Continued)
31Notification Process
- Notification may be as simple as dialing 9-1-1
(in North America) to report an incident and get
additional help dispatched
(Continued)
32Notification Process
- Strategic goal of notification may also include
such items as incident-level identification and
public emergency information/notification
(Continued)
33Notification Process
- Better to dispatch more resources than necessary
in an initial response to ensure appropriate
weight of attack to combat incident conditions
34Other Agencies
- Notification involves contacting law enforcement
whenever a terrorist or criminal incident is
suspected - Notify other agencies that an incident has
occurred
(Continued)
35Other Agencies
- Procedures will differ between military and
civilian agencies as well as from country to
country - Always follow SOPs/OIs and emergency response
plans for notification procedures
36Process for Notification
- Because some haz mat incidents and terrorist
attacks have potential to overwhelm local
responders, it is important to know how to
request additional resources
(Continued)
37Process for Notification
- Process should be spelled out through local,
district, regional, state, national emergency
response plans
(Continued)
38Process for Notification
- In the U.S., notification process is spelled out
in National Response Plan (NRP) all local,
state, federal emergency response plans must
comply with these provisions
(Continued)
39Process for Notification
- Local emergency response plan (LERP) should be
first resource a responder in U.S. should turn to
if they need to request outside assistance
40Protection
- Overall goal of ensuring safety of responders and
public - Includes measures taken to protect property and
environment - Accomplished through various tactics
41Protection of Responders
- First priority at any incident
- Accountability systems
- Buddy systems
- Evacuation/escape procedures
- Safety Officers
42Protection of the Public
- Includes isolating area and denying entry,
conducting rescues, performing mass
decontamination, providing emergency medical
care/first aid - Evacuation
- Sheltering in place
- Protecting/defending in place
43Decontamination Operations
- Performed at haz mat incidents to remove
hazardous materials from victims, PPE, tools,
equipment, anything else that has been
contaminated - Done to reduce contamination to a level that is
no longer harmful
(Continued)
44Decontamination Operations
- Prevent harmful exposures and reduce or eliminate
spread of contaminants outside hot zone - Provides victims with psychological reassurance
45Determining Factors for Type of Decontamination
Operation
- Size of incident
- Type of hazardous materials involved
- Weather
- Personnel available
- Variety of other factors
46Decontamination Rules
- Basic principles
- Get it off
- Keep it off
- Contain it
- Other decon rules
47Emergency Decontamination
- Removing contamination on individuals in
potentially life-threatening situation with or
without formal establishment of decontamination
corridor
(Continued)
48Emergency Decontamination
- Can consist of anything from removing
contaminated clothing to flushing a person with
water
49Emergency Decon Implementation
- Goal
- May be necessary for victims and rescuers
- Victims may need immediate medical treatment
- Several situations in which it may be needed
(Continued)
50Emergency Decon Implementation
- Quick fix
- Removal of all contaminants may not occur
- Can harm environment
- Procedures may differ depending on
circumstances/hazards present
51Mass Decontamination
- Conducting rapid decontamination of multiple
people at one time
(Continued)
52Mass Decontamination
- May be conducted with or without formal decon
corridor usually involves removing clothing and
flushing individuals with large quantities of
water
53Mass Decon Implementation
- Mass decon is physical process of rapidly
reducing/removing contaminants from multiple
persons in potentially life-threatening
situations, with or without formal establishment
of decon corridor
(Continued)
54Mass Decon Implementation
- Initiated when number of victims/time constraints
do not allow establishment of in-depth
decontamination process - Availability of ideal solutions in sufficient
quantities cannot always be insured
(Continued)
55Mass Decon Implementation
- Can be most readily/effectively established with
simple water shower system - Recommended that all victims undergoing mass
decon remove underclothing at least down to
undergarments
(Continued)
56Mass Decon Implementation
- To prioritize, responders must consider factors
related to medical triage/decontamination - Triage
- Ambulatory victims
- Nonambulatory victims
57Technical Decontamination
- Using chemical/physical methods to thoroughly
remove contaminants from responders/their
equipment - May also be used on incident victims in
non-life-threatening situations
(Continued)
58Technical Decontamination
- Normally conducted within formal decon line
- Type/scope determined by contaminants
59Technical Decon Implementation
- Absorption
- Adsorption
- Brushing and scraping
- Chemical degradation
- Dilution
- Neutralization
(Continued)
60Technical Decon Implementation
- Sanitation, disinfection, sterilization
- Solidification
- Vacuuming
- Washing
- Evaporation
- Isolation and disposal
61Decon Implementation Considerations
- Appropriate site must be selected
- Number of stations/setup of corridor or line must
be decided - Methods for collecting evidence must be
determined - Termination procedures must be followed
62Site Selection Factors
- Accessibility
- Terrain/surface material
- Lighting/electrical supply
- Drains/waterways
- Water supply
- Weather
63Decon Corridor Layout
- Establish decontamination corridor before
performing any work in hot zone - First responders are often involved with setting
up and working in decontamination corridor
(Continued)
64Decon Corridor Layout
(Continued)
65Decon Corridor Layout
- Types of decontamination corridors vary as to
numbers of sections or steps used in
decontamination process - Emergency responders must understand process and
be trained in setting up type of decontamination
required by different materials
(Continued)
66Decon Corridor Layout
- Decontamination corridor may be identified with
barrier tape, safety cones, other items that are
visually recognizable - How firefighters are protected when working in
the decontamination area depends on hazards of
the material
67Cold Weather Decon
- Conducting wet decon operations in freezing
weather can be difficult to execute safely - Run-off water can quickly turn to ice
(Continued)
68Cold Weather Decon
- If pre-warmed water is not available, susceptible
individuals can suffer cold shock or hypothermia - If temperatures are 64 degrees or lower,
consideration should be given to protecting
victims from cold
69Rescue at Haz Mat Incidents
- Due to potential of extreme hazards at haz mat
incidents and defensive nature of actions at
Operations Level, rescue can be a difficult
strategy to implement for firefighters,
particularly in initial stages of a response
(Continued)
70Rescue at Haz Mat Incidents
- Search and rescue attempts must be made within
framework of incident action plan with
appropriate PPE, backup personnel, other safety
considerations in place
(Continued)
71Rescue at Haz Mat Incidents
- In many emergency incidents, rescue of victims is
ICs first priority, but it is important to
balance vulnerability of firefighters against
lives of victims
(Continued)
72Rescue at Haz Mat Incidents
- Hesitation to rush into a situation to assist
casualties may directly conflict with fire
fighting strategic priority of rescue first as
well as with many firefighters natural desire to
help victims as quickly as possible
(Continued)
73Rescue at Haz Mat Incidents
- Because of dangers presented by hazardous
materials, responders who rush to the rescue may
quickly require the need to be rescued themselves
74Factors to Consider
- IC makes decisions about rescue based on a
variety of factors at incident - Several factors affect the ability of personnel
to perform a rescue - Decisions about rescue may differ depending on
country and jurisdiction
(Continued)
75Factors to Consider
- Responders must understand what actions are
appropriate for them given their SOPs, training,
available equipment and resources
(Continued)
76Factors to Consider
- Without coming in contact with the hazardous
material, Operations Level firefighters may
perform a limited number of tasks with
appropriate PPE
77Spill Control and Confinement
- Strategic goal of spill control involves
controlling product that has already been
released from its container
(Continued)
78Spill Control and Confinement
- Spill control minimizes amount of contact product
makes with people, property, environment by
limiting or confining the dispersion and/or
reducing the amount of harm caused by contact
with the material
(Continued)
79Spill Control and Confinement
- Tactics and tasks relating to spill control are
determined by material involved and type of
dispersion generally defensive in nature
(Continued)
80Spill Control and Confinement
- Main priority of spill control is confinement and
prevention of further contamination or contact
with hazardous material
81Spill Control and Confinement
- Firefighters trained to the Operations Level may
perform spill-control activities as long as they
do not come in contact with the product or have
appropriate training and PPE
(Continued)
82Spill Control and Confinement
- Spill control is a defensive operation with most
important issue being safety of the firefighters
performing these actions
(Continued)
83Spill Control and Confinement
- Spills may involve gases, liquids, solids, and
the product involved may be released into the
air, into water, onto a surface such as ground or
a bench top
84Spill Control and Confinement Tactics
- Hazardous materials may be confined by building
dams or dikes near source, catching material in
another container, directing flow to a remote
location for collection
(Continued)
85Spill Control and Confinement Tactics
- Before using equipment to confine spilled
materials, ICs need to seek advice from technical
sources to determine if spilled materials will
adversely affect the equipment
(Continued)
86Spill Control and Confinement Tactics
- Confinement is not restricted to controlling
liquids dusts, vapors, and gases can also be
confined
87Absorption
- Physical and/or chemical event occurring during
contact between materials that have an attraction
for each other - Results in one material being retained in other
(Continued)
88Absorption
- Some materials typically used as absorbents are
sawdust, clays, charcoal, polyolefin-type fibers - Absorbent is spread directly onto hazardous
material or in location where material is
expected to flow
(Continued)
89Absorption
- After use, absorbents must be treated and
disposed of as hazardous materials themselves
because they retain the properties of materials
they absorb
90Blanketing/Covering
- Involves blanketing or covering surface of spill
to prevent dispersion of materials such as
powders or dusts - Blanketing or covering of solids can be done with
tarps, plastic sheeting, salvage covers, other
materials
(Continued)
91Blanketing/Covering
- Blanketing of liquids is essentially same as
vapor suppression - Operations-Level responders may or may not be
allowed to perform blanketing/covering actions
92Dam, Dike, Diversion, Retention
- Ways to confine a hazardous material
- Actions are taken to control flow of liquid
hazardous materials away from point of discharge
(Continued)
93Dam, Dike, Diversion, Retention
- Firefighters can use available earthen materials
or materials carried on their response vehicles
to construct curbs that direct or divert the flow
away from gutters, drains, storm sewers,
flood-control channels, outfalls
94Dilution
- Application of water to a water-soluble material
to reduce hazard - Dilution of liquid materials rarely has practical
applications at haz mat incidents in terms of
spill control dilution is often used during
decontamination operations
(Continued)
95Dilution
- Amount of water needed to reach an effective
dilution increases overall volume and creates a
runoff problem
96Dissolution
- Process of dissolving a gas in water
- Tactic can only be used on such water-soluble
gases as anhydrous ammonia or chlorine generally
conducted by applying fog stream to a breach in
container or onto spill
97Vapor Dispersion
- Action taken to direct or influence course of
airborne hazardous materials - Pressurized streams of water from hoselines or
unattended master streams may be used to help
disperse vapors
(Continued)
98Vapor Dispersion
- Streams create turbulence, which increases rate
of mixing with air and reduces concentration of
hazardous material
99Vapor Suppression
- Action taken to reduce emission of vapors at a
haz mat spill - Fire fighting foams are effective on spills of
flammable and combustible liquids if foam
concentrate is compatible with material
(Continued)
100Vapor Suppression
- Water-miscible (capable of being mixed) materials
destroy regular fire fighting foams require an
alcohol-resistant foam agent
(Continued)
101Vapor Suppression
- Required application rate for applying foam to
control an unignited liquid spill is
substantially less than that required to
extinguish a spill fire
102Ventilation
- Involves controlling movement of air by natural
or mechanical means - Used to remove and/or disperse harmful airborne
particles, vapors, gases when spills occur inside
structures
(Continued)
103Ventilation
- Same ventilation techniques used for smoke
removal can be used for haz mat incidents
104Leak Control and Containment
- A leak involves the physical breach in a
container through which product is escaping - Goal of leak control is to stop or limit escape
or contain release either in original container
or by transferring to a new one
(Continued)
105Leak Control and Containment
- Type of container involved, type of breach,
properties of material determine tactics and
tasks relating to leak control - Leak control and containment are generally
considered offensive actions
(Continued)
106Leak Control and Containment
- Offensive actions not attempted by personnel
trained below the Technician Level with two
exceptions - Leak control dictates that personnel enter the
hot zone, which puts them at great risk
107Crime Scene Management and Evidence Preservation
- Framework for a response to a terrorist or
criminal incident is essentially same as that
used for a response to any other hazardous
materials incident
(Continued)
108Crime Scene Management and Evidence Preservation
- Because a crime is involved, law enforcement
organizations must be notified and included in
response - Notifying law enforcement ensures proper
state/province and federal/national agencies
respond to the incident
109Recovery and Termination Phase
- Occurs when IC determines all victims have been
accounted for and all hazards have been
controlled - Components of recovery/termination
- Incident Termination Checklist
- Decontamination/disposal issues
110On-Scene Debriefing
- Conducted in the form of a group discussion
gathers information from all operating personnel - Obtain information from responders
(Continued)
111On-Scene Debriefing
- One very important step in this process Provide
information to personnel concerning signs and
symptoms of overexposure to the hazardous
materials
112Post-Incident Analysis/Critique
- Provides responding agencies opportunity to
evaluate, review, refine issues - Can be used to evaluate effectiveness of their
response, identify problem areas, correct
deficiencies
(Continued)
113Post-Incident Analysis/Critique
- Information can be used to modify and improve
operations at future similar incidents - IC responsible for assigning someone to write a
post-incident report and provide it to health and
safety officer and chief of the agency
(Continued)
114Post-Incident Analysis/Critique
- Once all the necessary interviews have been made
and documents gathered, a post-incident analysis
should be scheduled for all agencies involved in
incident
(Continued)
115Post-Incident Analysis/Critique
- Formal analysis of incident will be based on
information gathered for post-incident analysis
116Summary
- For firefighters, hazardous materials incidents
are similar in many ways to other emergencies to
which they respond. The same universal priorities
apply life safety, incident stabilization, and
property conservation and an incident management
system is needed.
(Continued)
117Summary
- However, there are also some major differences
compared to structure fires, for example. In a
structure fire, as long as firefighters are
located outside of the collapse zone, they are
relatively safe.
(Continued)
118Summary
- In a hazardous materials incident, personnel can
be at risk a considerable distance from the point
of release. One major difference between the
property conservation priority at hazardous
materials incidents is the increased need for
environmental protection.
(Continued)
119Summary
- There are also differences in the size-up process
compared to structure fires. Since many hazardous
materials are highly toxic and can be spread over
a wide area, the initial identification of the
materials involved may have to be done from a
considerable distance away.
(Continued)
120Summary
- Finally, because of the highly toxic nature of
some hazardous materials, fire officers and their
crews may be untrained and unequipped to mitigate
a hazardous materials release. In these cases,
they must establish and maintain a safe perimeter
around the incident scene and call for hazardous
materials specialists who are trained and
equipped to handle such incidents.
(Continued)
121Summary
- In support of these specialists, firefighters
must provide fire protection, and be capable of
assisting with containment efforts such as
damming and diking, and setting up and operating
decontamination stations.
122Review Questions
- 1. What are the three incident priorities at all
haz mat and terrorist incidents? - 2. What information should be gathered by first
responders during the initial assessment of an
incident? - 3. Describe incident levels
(Continued)
123Review Questions
- 4. What are hazard-control zones?
- 5. What factors must be addressed in large-scale
evacuations? - 6. Define the three types of contamination.
(Continued)
124Review Questions
- 7. What actions can Operations-Level
firefighters perform during rescue operations? - 8. List defensive confinement and spill control
actions.
125Review Questions
- 9. Who must be notified and included in the
response to a terrorist or criminal incident? - 10. What information should be given to
responders at an on-scene debriefing?