MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — Behind Station House #2 in Middletown, a full complement of firefighters was in gear and ready to take on an annual training requirement.
The class is called ‘Hazmat Operations’ and, last week, Middletown Firefighters spent three days learning the specialized tactics and classwork from instructors from the International Association of Firefighters.
Deputy Chief David Albert is a 15-year veteran of the Middletown Fire Department.
"With the Hazmat, it’s different than a fire where you just get off the rig (firetruck) and you go to work -- you see the fire and attack it. Here you have to make a complete halt, slow everything down and you have to identify what you have," he said.
Middletown Assistant Chief James Ehman said there are a lot of moving parts, and there's a potential risk.
Teams of firefighters worked together on various hazmat scenarios from a basic propane tank needing to be extinguished to a 55-gallon drum of an unknown substance leaking on the roadway.
"It can be very dangerous because of all the unknowns; What product is it? What can it do to me? And what effect can it have on the community?” At the end of the training exercises, Albert said, “we want to have that confidence that we know what to do if a hazmat (call) does come in.”
Middletown Fire Department annual training's Hazmat Ops
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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