By Martin B. Cassidy
Staff Writer
February 21, 2007
Four firefighters huddled around the gushing pipe, stopping leaks
with special tape, clamps and wooden dowels to stem the flow of
water during a simulated gasoline spill inside a building.
Firefighters rummaged through their toolboxes for a quick fix
while their instructor, Timothy Regan, a former New York City
hazardous materials specialist, reminded them to keep their
cumbersome protective gloves on as if it were real.
"That's a real chemical agent," Regan said.
Fire Lt. Pat Gordiski said that while most spills of chemicals
and other hazardous materials happen on Interstate 95, the
exercise was worthwhile and challenging.
"Usually we deal with chemical spills on the highway or at
the weigh station," said Gordiski, a state-certified safety
officer and a 35-year veteran. "Your response depends on
where it happens."
Yesterday at the Cos Cob Volunteer Fire Department, Greenwich
firefighters began their annual hazardous material response
training with New York City fire veterans, reviewing how to
assess and mitigate releases and spills of chemical, biological,
and other harmful agents.
"Sometimes you won't know because you won't have anything to
go on," said Lt. John Berna, a commander for the New York
City Fire Department's HAZMAT Unit 1. "If you can't identify
it, you can try to classify what it is."
The training will continue throughout the week.
Firefighters also reviewed the universal system of symbols and
numbers used on shipping containers to show a chemical's acidity,
reactiveness, and other volatile qualities, which along with
other visible evidence like vapors or bystander symptoms allows
firefighters to make a wise response, Deputy Chief Thomas Zack
said.
As Zack watched the firefighters become drenched while they
worked to stop the leaks, he said in a real life case of a broken
gas pipe they would likely pull back after several tries if
unsuccessful and wait for the gas to be turned off.
In the meantime they would have cleared and secured the area to
protect the public, he said.
"What we're working on here is task-driven skills like
dexterity, problem solving, and using tools," Zack said.
"In a situation like that you would work to stop it in one
or two minutes unless there was an immediate threat to
life."
To protect the environment and firefighters, fire officers
directing personnel at spills and releases need to make quick
calculations about the severity or extent of a spill, Zack said.
If a mistake is made, ill-equipped firefighters could be burned
by acid or another chemical, or a harmful substance could be
allowed to spread into sewers or waterways, Zack said.
In the event of highway spills, chemical haulers are federally
required to have a document detailing what chemicals they are
carrying and their various hazards to people, Zack said.
On board his truck Zack also has three computer databases on
which he can quickly research chemicals and their potential
threat, and supervisors immediately confer with state
environmental officials about the incident.
"It's important because you need to know if your equipment
is matched to the actual threat," Zack said. "Do we
have the right metering equipment? If you have a chemical which
is lethal at inhalation you're going to need the highest possible
level of protection."
Yesterday firefighters also practiced "over packing" --
putting a leaking container inside a larger one to contain a
spill.
Zack said in some cases the best firefighters can immediately do
is prevent a spill from spreading or causing more damage.
For instance, sometimes a leaking drum inside a tractor-trailer
is buried behind other containers, making it difficult to find
the source and exposing firefighters to unacceptable safety
risks, Zack said.
"What do you do?" Zack said. "You need a forklift
to move 40 55-gallon drums. Sometimes you just have to foam up
the truck and wait there."
Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.