This 30-member, all volunteer hazmat team is charged with protecting about a 10-square-mile sector of San Fernando, Chile.

San Fernando is located in the central part of the long, thin country on South America’s Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 74,000 and stretches about 940 square miles.

The volunteer hazmat team is called in from other duties. They train monthly, sometimes with other hazmat teams.

The idea for the team first started to germinate in 1968 after a large fire in an oil refinery. After that, training in industrial fires began. By 2000, training in agro-industrial emergencies was increased. And in 2009, it was decided to start a dedicated hazmat team.

One of the team’s biggest wins was successfully controlling a 1-ton chlorine leak. Their biggest challenges are preparing for and addressing ammonia, organophosphorus, chlorine and cyanide emergencies.

In addition to the team’s primary apparatus — an Igniter Ferrara Fire MVP 2020 — they operate an Igniter Ferrara Heavy Rescue 2020 as an auxiliary rig.