Hazmat Survival Tips: Could Today be the Next September 10?

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Beyond the Rule of Thumb
Survival Tip 55

BySteven De Lisi

The morning of September 10, 2001, was a typical day in the firehouse. As some looked forward to a much needed day off following a busy night, others were preparing to stow their gear on the apparatus in anticipation of the next run. Roll call, apparatus inspections, and then breakfast filled the next hour. What was not typical, though, was that we would soon begin the first of several days of a new jointtrainingprogram scheduled for members of the fourhazardous materials responseteams then operating in the metro Richmond region of Virginia.

The program had been developed over several years by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, an agency that has the responsibility to train many of the hazardous material teams in the state. The program’s goal was to instruct personnel in what at the time were the best known practices for responding to terrorist incidents, including those that involved chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive threats. As would be expected, some in attendance questioned the need for such a program since any previous experience with terrorist incidents was literally half a world away. Despite this skepticism, the instructors moved forward, reminding us that should a terrorist event ever occur in the United States, it would likely be catastrophic with first responders among the casualties.

Needless to say, this skepticism, along with our sense of security, disappeared the following day, and in the months that followed, training such as that that was in metro Richmond was no longer just a good idea. Instead, it became mandatory in many departments, and the emphasis on training was coupled with the purchase of equipment that ranged from command post vehicles to decontamination showers to sophisticated instruments capable of detecting chemical weapons. We were inundated with calls from vendors selling all sorts of equipment, and we were flush with cash from the federal government to pay the tab. Many first responders could soon tell you the signs and symptoms of exposure to a nerve agent as quickly as they could their own name. We developed the ability to set up complicated mass-decontamination showers almost with our eyes closed, and we could tell you the difference between “soft” and “hard” targets. Following the tragedy of September 11, we knew we were on the front lines of a new war on the streets and that we were going to be ready.

But first responders are only human, and in that respect we tend to give the most attention to whatever alligator is biting us in the butt at any given moment. Nine years ago, that alligator was a terrorist. Ask most first responders what their biggest fear is today. They will likely tell you about the lack of job security and reduced pension benefits.EMScalls continue to increase in number as we provide medical care for those without health insurance while, at the same time, aging and poorly maintained装置threaten the safety of firefighters and the public. In the months following September 11, some volunteer fire departments could tell you about a sharp influx of citizens wanting to join their organization to combat terrorism. Today, most volunteer departments still struggle with declining membership, and almost all of the well-intentioned would-be members from nine years ago are long gone.

To be sure, the goal of first responders is still one ofsurvival, but today this goal is more likely focused on economics than terrorism. In light of the financial turmoil that has riled this country for the past three years, who can blame them? Yet, could today be the next September 10? Could tomorrow be too late to prepare for another terrorist attack?

How long has it been since you assembled your decontamination shower? How long has it been since you trained on the chemical weapons detector assigned to your apparatus? Has the instrument been calibrated, and are any of the components out of date? What about all the powered air-purifying respirators your department may have purchased? Do they still work? Where is the chart that provides evacuation distances for suspected vehicle bombs? Can anyone in your station tell you the signs and symptoms of nerve agent exposure? Do you know them? What about protocols for responding to incidents involving “dirty bombs” and “suspicious powders?” To be sure, we all hope and pray we never again need to know the answer to any of these questions and hundreds more just like them. But, of course, some thought the same on September 10.

Despite our economic woes and all the other problems that are a fact of life in every fire station in every community across the nation,every dayshould be September 10, even if only for a few minutes. Read a chapter in a terrorism response manual, or put your hands on some of the equipment your department likely spent thousands of dollars to buy. For those of us on the job nine years ago, think back to all the things we did to prepare for a terrorist attack. Better yet, schedule a formal refresher session, and include other members of the emergency response community including local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and those from local hospitals.

For some fire departments, it has probably been years since they conducted a joint terrorism response training scenario with first responders from neighboring localities. When was the last time you visited the local hospital emergency room to train with its decontamination equipment? Today would be a good day to start planning such an event.

How about law enforcement? Have the air-purifying cartridges assigned to policeofficers intended to protect them from exposure to chemical and biological weapons expired? Have they had refresher training on the use of this equipment? Remember that police officers are no differentfrom firefighters in that their priorities also likely may have shifted during the past several years.

Of course, some will argue the need for this level of preparation by all fire departments and dispute the notion that smaller communities are likely terrorist targets. Yet if this is true, what also may be true is that any device intended for use as a weapon of mass destruction needs to first be assembled, and isolated rural areas on the outskirts of metropolitan regions could provide the necessary cover to allow these operations to go forth with little scrutiny. I believe few are immune.

For all first responders, our world, our lives, and our job changed on September 11, 2001, and while some were on the front lines that day, the rest of us remember where we were and what we were doing when we learned of the tragic events that killed thousands of civilians and hundreds of firefighters. Yet for some of us, the memories of the day before are just as haunting, for on that day we took steps to prepare for a terrorist attack we hoped would never happen. With the incident behind us, butnever forgotten, we mustalwaysask ourselves the question, “Could today be the next September 10?

This article explains the need to prepare for a terrorist incident. Future“Hazmat Survival Tips: Beyond the Rule of Thumb” articlesover the next several months will deal with operational issues on this topic.

Questions or comments on this or any other monthly Hazardous Materials Survival Tip may be directed to Steven De Lisi atHazMatSurvivalTip@comcast.net.

Steven M. De Lisi recently retired from the fire service following a 27-year career that included serving as the deputy chief for the Virginia Air Guard Fire Rescue and a division chief for the Virginia Department of Fire Programs (VDFP). De Lisi is a hazardous materials specialist and as an adjunct instructor for VDFP. He continues to conduct hazardous materials awareness and operations-level training for fire suppression and EMS personnel. He began his career in hazardous materials response in 1982 as a member of the hazmat team with the Newport News (VA) Fire Department. Since then he has also served as a hazardous materials officer for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. In that capacity, he provided on-scene assistance to first responders dealing with hazardous materials incidents in a region that included more than 20 local jurisdictions. De Lisi holds a master’s degree in public safety leadership and is the author of the textbookHazardous Material Incidents: Surviving the Initial Response (Fire Engineering, 2006)

Subjects:Hazardous materials response, firefighter hazmat training

Click herefor more info on Steven De Lisi’s book,Hazardous Materials Incidents: Surviving the Initial Response.

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