Hazmatters Brazil Hazmat Team Meets Private Industry Challenge In the Suzano section of Sao Paulo, Brazil, a private-industry hazmat, fire, rescue and EMS team protects a 30,000-square-foot industrial site. The team is divided into four groups of seven members, with each trained to the hazmat technician level. In 2021, one of the four groups alone saw four hazardous product leaks, two fires and […] Written by Phil Ambrose January 14, 2022January 14, 2022
Hazmatters Florida Hazmat Team Tackles Natural, Manmade Threats Sandwiched between Tampa and Orlando, Polk County Fire Rescue’s hazmat team must be ready for both manmade and natural threats. The county stretches across 2,011 square miles and has a population of about 725,000. The county often finds itself in the path of hurricanes and other tropical storms, which can create hazmat and technical rescue […] Written by Phil Ambrose December 30, 2021December 30, 2021
Hazmatters Hazmat Team Helps Keep Magic Alive at Magic Kingdom Prior to the pandemic, Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom saw nearly 21 million visitors in 2019 — that’s 1.7 million people per month. To put that in perspective, the entire state of Florida has about 22 million residents. New York City has a population of 8 million. Throw in the populations of Bay Lake and […] Written by Phil Ambrose December 10, 2021December 10, 2021
Hazmatters Brazil Volunteer Hazmat Team Touts Dedication Nestled in the far southeastern corner of Brazil, is a 71-member volunteer fire-based hazardous materials team. Eldorado do Sul is a suburban town near the city Porto Alegre, both in the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul. The municipality home to 42,000 sits near where the Guaiba River empties into Guaiba Lake, which is […] Written by Phil Ambrose October 8, 2021October 8, 2021
Hazmatters Tenn. Hazmat Team is City and Regional Resource It is impossible to overstate how much 9/11 changed the U.S. fire service. What’s easy to forget is the rash of suspicious white powder calls that sprung up in mailrooms around the country following the terror attacks when anthrax-laced letters were sent to newsrooms, politicians and the FBI. Yet it was just those calls that […] Written by Phil Ambrose September 30, 2021September 30, 2021
Hazmatters Calif. Hazmat Team Adapting to Changing Needs The Orange County Fire Authority came together in 1995 to address rapid growth in Southern California, and has continued to grow with its community ever since. Written by Phil Ambrose September 16, 2021September 17, 2021
Hazmatters Young Colo. Hazmat Team Relies on Planning, Training Following decades of false starts, a large county-wide hazmat team is finally up and running. Careful and deliberate planning from the start and a focus on training and interagency relationships have been key to the team’s early success. Boulder County, Colo. spans 740 square miles and has a population of more than 325,000. From 1940 […] Written by Phil Ambrose July 8, 2021July 8, 2021
Hazmatters Hazmat Vols Getting it Done in the Volunteer State Hawkins County Emergency Response Team was organized in May 1995 by Bob Laeng, who served as chief. He had a favorite saying that has become the team motto: “Don’t get none on ya!” Written by Phil Ambrose July 1, 2021July 8, 2021
Hazmatters Young Volunteer Hazmat Team Covers Large Area In east-central Argentina a volunteer fire company formed in 1965 protects more than 380 square miles and more than 180,000 residents. Read More at Hazmat Nation Written by Phil Ambrose June 18, 2021July 8, 2021