Hazardous Materials Unit 114 Standard Operational Procedure

Flashcards covering the operational procedures, categories, decontamination steps, and protective equipment standards for the Baltimore County Fire Department Hazardous Materials Unit 114.

Haz-Mat 1

The designation for the Division Chief assigned to Hazardous Materials Unit #114 who serves as the administrator of the program.

Brooklandville Station #14

The specific fire station where Hazardous Materials Unit #114 (Haz-Mat 114) is housed.

Automatic Dispatch Threshold

Incidents involving chemicals, pesticides, or hydrocarbons in excess of $100\,\text{gallons}$ or $100\,\text{pounds}$, as well as aircraft crashes or train derailments.

DEPRM

The Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management, which must be notified by Fire Dispatch whenever Haz-Mat 114 is dispatched.

Dispatch Upon Request Threshold

Exposure fires involving large quantities of hazardous materials in excess of $500\,\text{gallons}$ or $500\,\text{pounds}$, or incidents requiring more than $6\,\text{cans}$ of foam or $6\,\text{bags}$ of absorbent.

Hot Sector

The location of the leak or spill and close surrounding areas, designated by red traffic cones.

Warm Sector

The closest safe distance from the leak or spill where no contamination takes place, containing the decon area and forward command, designated by yellow traffic cones.

Cold Sector

A safe area for staging equipment, personnel, command post, and news media, designated by green traffic cones.

Station 2 (Decontamination)

The Gross Decontamination stage where victims and the entry team are showered, and victim clothing is removed prior to washing.

Station 9 (Decontamination)

The Medical Assessment stage involving rapid patient assessment for victims and post-medical evaluations for entry, backup, and decon team members.

Level A Suit

A totally encapsulating chemical protective suit used with a one-hour SCBA, chemical resistant gloves and boots, and radio communications.

Level B Suit

A Tyvek/Saranex full suit or coveralls providing chemical splash protection, used with an SCBA, resistant gloves/boots, and radio communications.

S.A.R.A. Title III Act

The legislative act governing the requirement for yearly in-depth medical physicals for Haz-Mat personnel, which are tracked for five years after leaving the station.

Hazardous Materials Technician

A training level (Level 3) for Satellite Companies (Stations 13, 15, 17, and 54) who can act offensively to control a release if proper protective clothing and decontamination are available.

Hazardous Materials Specialist

A training level (Level 4) for personnel assigned to E-14, Haz-Mat 114, and Haz-Mat 1, 2, and 5 who work with and supervise Technicians.

Flammable Liquid (S.O.P. Definition)

Any product with a flash point below $100^{\circ}\text{F}$.

Absorbent Capacity

One bag of the current type of absorbent can absorb up to $18\,\text{gallons}$ of product, depending on viscosity.

Maryland State Spill Report

A required report that must be completed and forwarded to headquarters any time that one or more bags of absorbent are used.

PVC Suit Testing Pressure

The suit is inflated to $3.0"$ of water, then lowered to $2.2"$; it fails if the pressure drops more than $0.2"$ in five minutes.

Butyl Suit Testing Pressure

The suit is pressurized to $5"$ of water for one minute, then reduced to $4"$; it fails if the pressure is less than $3.2"$ after three minutes.