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    The Firehouse.com Hazardous Materials product category is a collection of information, product listings and resources for researching various hazardous materials equipment and tools, including encapsulation suits, atmospheric monitoring, hazmat mitigation, CBRNE, and chemical detector options.
    Photos by Jake Ryks
    firefighter hazmat response Jake Ryks
    Jake Ryks
    April 9, 2025
    Jake Ryks provides "firefighter" definitions of vapor pressure, flammability, toxicity and other technical terms to drill down to practical knowledge for hazmat response.
    Semi driver jump through fire after Akron crash on I-77, hear from witnesses
    Glen E. Ellman/Fort Worth Fire Department
    Fort Worth Firefighters at Electric Substation Fire
    Santa Rosa Fire Department/Facebook
    Santa Rosa CA Fire
    Images courtesy of U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
    Every four years, the U.S. Department of Transportation updates the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) and distributes it to emergency responders across the United States. Among the sources of information that are listed in the ERG is CHEMTREC, which is provided by the chemical industry. Resources from the chemical industry can be notified by CHEMTREC, including having strike teams dispatched from companies that are familiar with the hazardous materials that were spilled. Several other private sector agencies are also mentioned on the inside of the back cover. Page 396 lists information for contacting the National Response Center (NRC). The NRC is operated by the U.S. Coast Guard and is the main contact point for hazmat releases to activate federal assistance for a chemical release anywhere in the United States. The NRC’s capabilities include the computerized version of the Coast Guard chemical data base, which is the largest collection of safety data sheets (SDS) in the world.

    Latest

    Collins firefighters receive robot to help fight industrial fires
    Brighton fire chief speaks on explosion at tank on GM Proving Grounds
    Photo by Scott Burgess
    A ThermoFisher identiFINDER was used at a recent radiological incident at a Brookhaven, NY, landfill and mistakenly detected the presence of reactor-grade plutonium. This triggered a call to the Department of Energy’s Radiological Assistance Program team, which used a more sophisticated high-purity germanium crystal detector to correctly identify lutetium-177.
    Colorado Springs Fire Department/Facebook
    colorado_springs
    Fuel truck overturns in Oakland Park neighborhood, driver hospitalized
    Susan Nicol
    Oct. 16, 2024
    Firefighters sprayed foam as crews off-loaded the diesel fuel into another vehicle, Oakland Park Asst. Chief Marc Vermont said.
    Landfill fire keeps crews busy in Niagara County overnight
    Oct. 14, 2024
    Among the challenges were the exposure of a methane pipe, two parked bulldozers that were at risk and 15 mph winds, Lewiston Chief Spencer Lilly said.
    Two workers dead, dozens injured after chemical release at PEMEX facility, sheriff says
    Oct. 11, 2024
    After the hydrogen sulfide release, a shelter in place was ordered by Deer Park Emergency Management officials.
    John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS
    Smoke from the fire at BioLab in Conyers required 17,000 people to evacuate.
    Oct. 8, 2024
    People rallied at the Georgia State Capitol calling to close the BioLab plant, which burned last week, over health concerns.
    Georgia residents evacuate as toxic smoke billows from inferno at chemical plant
    Sept. 30, 2024
    There have been fires and chemical releases at other company facilities in Georgia and elsewhere, according to state and federal reports.