The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
IN A TIGHT SPOT
Tri-C provides safety training for Chagrin/Southeast Haz-Mat Response Team for rescues
Compared to what they were preparing for, the steady drizzle was the least of the problems faced by the Chagrin/ Southeast Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team of Cuyahoga County.
Or, as the team’s director, Mark Vedder, put it on Sept. 25: “The weather they can handle. These aren’t the most slender guys; these are big, beefy firemen squeezing into 26- and 30inch openings.
“Our confined space rescue training, consisting of two scenarios, horizontal and vertical descent, is something we train for quarterly throughout the year, though the Haz-Mat Team trains once a month,” said Vedder, who serves as assistant fire chief in Chagrin Falls and is also an instructor at the Tri-C Western Campus’ Public Safety Training Center in Parma.
“We try to use Tri-C’s (Western Campus) training facilities at least once a year. We brought our toys out here because they have a nice simulator. There are multiple ways we can use this for both horizontal or vertical entries and rescues.
“In other places where we train, we use actual industrial tanks,” he said. “What’s great about a training prop like this is we don’t have to worry about if it’s clean or if someone is using it for real-world production, so Tri-C is very gracious to let us use this facility. As haz-mat technicians and confined space rescue
"...these are big, beefy firemen squeezing into 26- and 30-inch openings.”
— Mark Vedder, director of Chagrin/Southeast Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team of Cuyahoga County.
technicians, we’re required to train in all the types of spaces that we could encounter an actual rescue in, so we have a bunch of those types of spaces today.”
Formed in 1990 at the request of local fire chiefs, the team provides highly trained personnel and specialized equipment to support local police and fire departments in mitigating the consequences of incidents involving hazardous materials.
The team serves 32 cities/ municipalities in Cuyahoga
and Geauga counties, as well as serving as a Regional Response Team to the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.
Comprised of firefighters from 18 departments, the team also responds to terrorism incidents throughout the state as part of the Region 2 Type 1 Chemical, Biological, Nuclear, Radiological, and/or Explosive response.
The team is governed by a small Chagrin/Southeast Council. Day-to-day operations are run by the HazMat committee.
Vedder said working at Tri-C is nice due to the lack of real-world elements.
“With those types of locations,
there are a bunch of coordinated efforts not to interfere with operations. It’s one of the reasons we pushed really hard to get a simulator here. It’s a great opportunity for us and the whole region because we’re not the only team that uses it.”
Before team members enter a confined space, air monitoring is conducted to identify and quantify airborne contaminants, determining the level of protection needed, and to ensure there is no explosive or poisonous atmosphere.
Team members are also equipped with supplied air respirators, color-coded and linked to a communication line. After descending or entering a tube and evaluating a victim, they “package” the victim, set up a hauling system, a SKED stretcher, for example, and bring the individual out.
Referring to confined space rescue training as low frequency, Vedder at the same time doesn’t underestimate its value.
“This is one of those things we don’t use very often, so it doesn’t make sense for a single department to fund their own (team), but it does make a lot of sense for everybody to get together and do it,” he said.
“In case of an event, specialized personnel are vital, and we’ve seen some events, believe me. One real-world confined space we’ve seen
was only 20 inches (in diameter).”
Commander Daniel Waitkus, the program manager of the fire training academy at the Western Campus, is thrilled to be able to provide regional rescue teams with the necessary resources to fulfill their duties.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for these dedicated individuals to serve and meet the safety needs of the Northeast Ohio community,” he said.
Tri-C’s Western Campus is located at 11000 Pleasant Valley Road.
For information, visit http://www.chagrinsehazmat.com/index.html.
“In case of an event, specialized personnel are vital, and we’ve seen some events, believe me. One realworld confined space we’ve seen was only 20 inches (in diameter).”