Colorado Springs to introduce full-time hazmat crew after 12-year hiatus

Colorado Springs to introduce full-time hazmat crew after 12-year hiatus

Originally published by The Gazette

Editors note: Additional context about the stormwater fee was added to this story.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department recommissioned a dedicated full-time hazardous materials crew of firefighters and medics after the team was cut for budgetary reasons 12 years ago.

The new four-person crew will operate out of fire Station 14 near Dublin and Academy boulevards to assist with routine building inspections, hazmat spills and other chemical-related emergencies across the city, officials announced Thursday.

Restoring the dedicated team is being funded by excess revenue from storm water infrastructure improvement fees.

“We are all looking forward to bringing it back to where it was prior to the cut and taking it beyond that,” station captain Timothy Krantz said of the re-formed team.

A single crew has operated out of Station 14 and responded to emergency calls using two different engines depending on whether it was a hazmat-related call or a standard emergency. With the new team, both trucks can be in service at the same time.

“We didn’t not respond to any calls, but there was a lot of juggling that had to take place to maintain the safety and welfare of our citizens, and today that ends,” Fire Chief Ted Collas said.

The city eliminated the dedicated hazmat crew in 2009 during the recession when departments throughout city operations were forced to reduce staffing, Mayor John Suthers said.

Since then, voters passed the Storm Water Fee Ballot Issue in 2017 to support the city’s storm water infrastructure. Excess revenue from the fee was moved to public safety operations to help employ 120 police officers and 32 firefighters, Suthers said.

The hazmat crew initially disbanded because the city used $15 million from general funds to support the stormwater needs prior to the fee being reinstated. Now with the stormwater fee, the general fund is no longer depleted, city spokeswoman Jamie Fabos said.

As a part of that expansion, the city dedicated four firefighters to the hazmat truck. It is the only fully staffed hazmat truck in the state, said Chris Kenner, a medic at the station. That means the truck could be called to hazmat emergencies across the state, Kenner said.

To become a hazmat technician, firefighters must have extensive training. In addition to 80 hours of hazmat training, they must undergo radiation training and sometimes further training in chemistry, Krantz said.

“We have a lot of very highly skilled, dedicated people who enjoy doing this work and I think it’s very important work,” Krantz said.

Kenner likened a hazmat technician to “a high-speed plumber.”

The hazmat truck is equipped to handle a variety of calls from contaminated stream water to gas leaks.

“I think this is a really big deal,” Krantz said. “I think it’s an exciting time for the citizens of Colorado Springs and it’s an exciting time for the fire department.”

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