Gary Gordon, a prominent Deputy Fire Chief, Emergency and Business Continuity Planner and Toxicologist was in Cranbrook August 17- 19 to provide local firefighters with the knowledge and tools required to better deal with incidents involving hazardous materials.

The course was hosted by Cranbrook Fire and Emergency Services with members from Cranbrook, Fernie, Baynes Lake and Jaffray Fire Departments, as well as members from the Ministry of Environment partaking in the training.

Cranbrook Fire and Emergency Services initiated a Hazardous Material program approximately three years ago, at the direction of city council. This program provides an improved local capacity to deal with many issues such as leaking chemicals, toxic atmospheres and unknown or suspected hazardous materials. The next closest hazardous materials teams to Cranbrook are located in Calgary and Vancouver.

To date Cranbrook Fire and Emergency Services has responded to several incidents of note including:

– chlorine gas in a large retail store;

– chlorine leaks within city facilities;

– an apartment in which an unknown substance had been discharged utilizing a pressurized vessel;

– A large propane cylinder breech;

– unknown chemicals which had been mixed and reacted with one another.

In each of these cases firefighters were better able to define safe zones, limit the number of evacuations and resolve the incidents sooner than was possible before the program came into effect. Often, the situation can be remedied by simple actions once the appropriate type and level of personal protective equipment can be identified, allowing firefighters to safely enter the site. For example, a chlorine leak in the pool area of Western Financial Place might require the evacuation of the entire facility until the gasses dissipate (hours or days) if a response team could not enter the area to shut off the valve or isolate the cylinder.

With hazardous materials incidents the hazards are not always obvious. The tool kit and training Gary provided this weekend will help fire fighters to identify when a significant life hazard is present utilizing a series of simple tests and observations. Also, when there is little or no threat from an inert substance this can be readily identified in the field, minimizing disruptions caused to the community due to the event.

Above photo:  Gary Gordon (right) explains the process for identifying oxidizing chemicals, during hazardous material identification training at the Cranbrook Fire Hall last weekend.  Photo courtesy of Cranbrook Fire & Emergency Services.
City of Cranbrook

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