Hazardous Material
In a Hazardous Material Situation you can come across Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, and Nuclear agents also known as CBRN (pronounced C Burn) Because of the high risk and danger relating to all radioactive and nuclear agents and chemicals you will have to be trained to handle it in different situations utilizing 2 different certifications.
The best way to handle any Hazmat incident in general is by starting uphill and upwind from the initial incident and going from there. Setting up containment zones is up to the initial incident commander and depends on what kind of substance is in play.
Hazardous Materials Aware
All fire personnel should be aware of what to do on a Hazardous materials incident. At the awareness level the firefighter involved can take place in decontamination and only able to go as far as the warm zone and will not handle any Hazardous substance directly. They can also set up the containment area of the incident and identify what substance it could possibly be if there are any markings.
Hazmat Technician
In this level of training the Technician will be able to handle and mitigate a hazardous materials incident at the source. They are able to travel into the hot zone and physically contain the incident. This includes rescue and recovery of victims in the hot zone to bring them back to the decontamination area so the can be deconed and treated.
Zones
In a Hazardous Materials Incident it is broken down into 3 Zones; Hot, Warm, and Cold.
Each zone is specified by the threat level of contamination and what can be done.
Cold Zone: The cold zone consists of everywhere up wind and where there is 0 threat that there will be any contamination to people or property in this area. And this is the area in which command will be as well as where apparatus will be placed here.
Warm Zone: The warm zone is the area in which there is a risk of contamination and the buffer between the hot and cold zone. It is where Technicians will travel to
Hot Zone: The hot zone is the direct area in which the incident is and where all the work will be done. The only ones to go into the hot zone are the technicians with proper PPE and tools. Technicians coming out of the hot zone will be deconed after.
Decontamination
Decontamination will take place in the warm zone and can be done by anyone at the awareness level and above and the PPE worn will be that of the same level or 1 level below the Techs that are going to mediate the incident. The way to properly do decon is with hoses and brushes to make sure those individuals that are going from Hot to cold zone get all contaminants off of them, a proper decon corridor can be set up with an engine with small hose lines. It is up to scene command on where the corridor will be set up initially.
PPE
There are 3 levels of PPE (personal protective equipment) that are delegated to hazmat. They are Level A,B,and C.
Level A: this is a fully encapsulated suit that covers the entire body not allowing anything to get under it. In order to wear a Level A you must be Tech trained. These suits are designed to go into the Hot zone to mitigate a hazmat incident. In the game they will be the blue in color mop suits with SCBA due to there isn’t a true Level A in GTA.
Level B: these suits are not fully encapsulated but cover all skin on the person. The person in a level b suit will wear an SCBA outside of the suit and isn’t fully encapsulated. Level Bs are designed for Hazmat incidents hat are less likely to cause harm to skin. This suit is mostly used for lighter hazmat incidents that may not require a Level a Suit or mostly used in decon.
Level 😄 These suits aren’t suits Level C consists of station uniform or bunker gear. Which are worn on non hazardous spills and such such as a gas leak or a gas spill. They may be used in decon if the Hazmat techs are in a Level B suit.