Hazardous Materials

Welcome to the Merrimack Fire and Rescue Department's Hazardous Materials Page

 The Merrimack Fire and Rescue Department is working hard to be prepared for any and all incidents involving hazardous materials. Based on guidelines set forth by the National Fire Protection Agency, Merrimack Fire and Rescue has trained all of its career personnel and many of its call and volunteer personnel to the hazardous materials awareness and operations level. This training has given our first responders the ability to recognize a hazardous materials event when presented to them and take the appropriate action necessary to obtain a successful outcome. Much of this training revolves around research techniques geared toward ensuring proper decisions are made based on a given product. This level of training also allows firefighter/EMTs to actively work toward containing any leaking product that may have occurred based on a motor vehicle accident or a specific incident at a business facility here in Merrimack. 

 Merrimack Fire and Rescue has also trained its personnel in decontamination. This allows for workers and equipment that may have become contaminated with a product, chemical or even a biological agent to be properly decontaminated (cleaned off). This ensures that harmful agents are not spread outside of an area where a hazard may exist, this allows for safety of emergency personnel and the public at large.

Hazardous materials drill at Saint-Gobain
Figure 1
Hazardous materials drill at Saint-Gobain

 Merrimack Fire and Rescue currently has more than twenty members trained at the hazardous materials technician level. This course is also based on the National Fire Protection Agencies standard for emergency responders. In addition to the basic recognition and identification techniques learned at the awareness and operations level, technician level responders learn more advanced techniques for mitigating hazards. This class is over eighty hours long and requires students to accomplish multiple tasks using chemical protective clothing and respiratory protection. This is not an easy accomplishment, and to have as many people meet these requirements as we have is quite a testament to the hard work and dedication of Merrimack Fire and Rescue personnel.