HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESPONSE TEAM

As far back as November 2001, meetings of the Solano County Terrorism Working Group identified the lack of capability to respond to and effectively mitigate any major hazardous materials emergency in Solano County. A plan was developed and initiated for the formation of a Hazardous Materials Response Team within Solano County. This multi agency hazardous materials team is currently made up of 25 to 28 members from local fire agencies including Travis Air Force Base and four members from law enforcement. The Solano County Sheriff’s Office has designated two of its members to be placed on the team. The team’s utilization will be primarily in the jurisdiction of Solano County, but could provide mutual aid to adjacent counties. The team will periodically train with the City Of Napa’s Hazardous Materials Team. The Solano County Office of Emergency Services purchased a Hazardous Materials Response Vehicle in the amount of $300,000. Additional purchases of equipment and training occur each year utilizing funds from each participating agency and grants administered by the Office of Emergency Services. The vehicle is located at a local fire station, ready for immediate deployment. Each year the capabilities of the team increases with additional equipment and training events.  The team currently has a Type 2 rating but is rapidly approaching a Type 1 rating with an evaluation required to complete the process. With no official Haz-Mat team being in place since the late 1980’s, everyone agrees that there is no single city or agency that can effectively staff such a team of this magnitude. This is why the “multi agency” concept has been applied. The team was developed and training was implemented on February 9, 2004 at the Cordelia Fire station.