Hazmat team protects public from hazardous materials

PANAMA CITY BEACH — In May 2010 a plume of white vapor coming from a chemical canister on the side of County 390 caused quite a stir.

The road was closed and six members of the Bay County hazmat team were deployed, wrapped in their personal bubble of protective gear.

The situation was diffused quickly. The canister contained muriatic acid, a swimming pool cleaner.

Coordinators of the Bay County Fire Rescue Regional Hazmat Team smirk a little at the memory but said the incident fits perfectly with the team’s credo, “Better safe than sorry.”

“When in doubt, call an authority,” co-coordinator Seth Imhof said.

Had the canister been full of something more sinister, such as a chemical agent of domestic terrorism, Imhof said the team would have been just as prepared to respond.

Bay County’s hazmat team, one of 36 state-certified teams throughout seven regions of Florida, recently was recognized by the West Florida Regional Planning Council and Bay County Board of County Commissioners with a resolution declaring this week Hazardous Materials Awareness Week.

The hazmat team is dedicated to providing “life safety and mitigation” of any situations involving chemicals, Imhof said.

When there’s bad stuff in the air, water or land, the hazmat crew is charged with getting anyone who might be in immediate danger out, organizing an evacuation if one is needed and stopping the spread of harmful effects. Private companies are contracted do cleanup.

Hazmat crews work in short cycles of no more than about 20 minutes because the vapor-resistant, splash-resistant DuPont suits act like a personal sauna, co-coordinator Brian Welborn said. There is no way for heat or perspiration to escape the suit and responders have to have their vital signs closely monitored.

The suits are hot and cumbersome, bringing dexterity to nearly zero, but they are safe, he said.

“We handle anything from industrial accidents to intentional releases,” Welborn said.

Beginnings

Bay County’s hazmat team started in 1993 under now-county manager Bob Majka.

“We were kind of in the infancy at that point and we were trying to put together a response team,” he said.

The team started as a strictly volunteer group that accepted firefighters from all area departments, but as the community grew and calls became more frequent, Majka said he saw a need to formalize the team as he moved into the emergency director position. But it wasn’t until the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, when the Department of Homeland Security was formed that Bay County’s 18-man extensively trained primary team became what it is, fully equipped with a truck and a trailer stuffed full of decontamination equipment.

“We were one of the teams that was closer to the mark as far as training and equipment,” Majka said, making the team a designated part of the newly formed regional response network.

Then the money started to flow. Over the last 10 years, the hazmat team has received close to $1 million in Homeland Security money for equipment, supplies, training and ongoing maintenance of the equipment, officials said. Some of the team’s high-tech devices include a spectrometer, advanced gas and radiation detectors.

Now every Bay County firefighter is trained as a hazardous materials technician, a certification that requires 160 hours of rigorous training, Imhof said. The 18 members of the primary team take several additional courses.

The training and equipment were useful during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Hazmat crews responded to reports of tar balls and had the on-site equipment and knowledge to know what type of response was required and the level of threat the materials presented.

“It helped us respond better and keep the public better informed,” Majka said.