A Hazardous Materials Response Team (HAZMAT Team) is a group of trained personnel who respond to releases of hazardous materials for the purpose of control or stabilization of the incident.
Hazardous materials, due to their complexity and capacity to do greater harm, require a special type of response. Critical information must be gathered and a number of tasks must be performed before an operating decision can be made. Then an operation must be undertaken that will accomplish a satisfactory objective in a manner that is safe to the responders, the public and the environment.
NMFD Hazmat responds to the following types of incidents:
• Abandoned or leaking drums
• Illegal chemical dumping
• Explosive or reactive chemical emergencies
• Carbon monoxide emergencies
• Assist in decontamination of personnel and equipment
• Fire incidents that create smoke problems, involve hazardous materials or waste, or toxic runoff water
• Complaint investigation
• Hazardous waste investigation
• Leaking underground storage tanks
• Radioactive materials incidents
• Petroleum spills
• Chemical spills
• Air pollution
• Water pollution
Capabilities Include:
• Confinement and containment of spills
• Air, smoke and plume monitoring
• Chemical identification
• Decontamination
• Technical resource and guidance
NMFD also houses the Tri-Boro South Mutual Aid Group’s Mass Decontamination unit for large scale incidents.