Hazmat students in York County learn unique skills with hands-on, classroom training

ALFRED – The bright yellow, orange and blue suits looked hot and uncomfortable and the black gloves the students wore seemed large on their hands as they worked to contain hazards.

What they encountered wasn’t actually hazardous – water mimicked an array of chemicals Hazmat Technician course students worked to contain in a series of mock spills on Aug. 29 as part of their coursework.

Donning the suits was all part of the drill for students in the course, which was hosted by York County Emergency Management Agency’s Hazardous Materials Response Team and sponsored by the agency and by York County Fire Academy and the Maine Emergency Response Commission.

The course, said instructor Allan Nygren of Bangor-based Training Technologies, Inc. is designed to teach firefighters and others how to effectively deal with an array of hazards – including advanced identification of substances, leak sealing, gas identification, classification, and much more.

It and other courses like it are designed to keep people safe from harm.

“What is it, and what will it hurt?,” when something is spilled or leaked into the air, Nygren explained.” How to wash it off, how to make it go away.”

In all, 19 students from York County and other fire departments, a midcoast chemical company and from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection spent a week at the York County government building in Alfred, learning about various hazardous chemicals and other substances and how to safely deal with them.

Saco firefighters Marc Martin, Pat Sarto and Connor Redlon – the latter also a member of Buxton Fire and Rescue, said the course was beneficial.

Martin explained that Biddeford and Saco departments operate a decontamination unit used to remove hazardous materials from suits, footwear and gloves worn by those who have worked to deal with any spill or leak.

Technicians must come to a scene prepared with breathing apparatus and an array of suits and gloves – which one is worn depends on what hazard is encountered. And yes, they are hot and uncomfortable – and necessary.

Sarto said the course information students must read and remember can be dry, but he noted that Nygren has a way of making it interesting, and the class work is interspersed with the hands-on mock scenarios.

 “It’s a great class,” said Redlon, of the Saco and Buxton departments.

The hands-on exercises mimicked a leak of corrosive material and a chlorine leak, among others.

York County EMA Training and Response Coordinator Scott Gagne said he took the technician course as a refresher to be up to date with new information.

“I took it 20 years ago and when the hazmat team started in York County,” he said. When Gagne served as Biddeford’s deputy fire chief and later as chief, his service on the York County Hazardous Materials Response Team was on hold, however, due to time constraints. “Now, I’d like to be more involved,” he said.

Chris Allen, captain of the York County Hazardous Materials Response Team and a Kennebunk Fire Rescue call force and per diem member, estimated the team responds to about half-a-dozen incidents a year. Recently, the team responded to what turned out to be an ammonia leak at an ice company in Sanford, along with the Sanford Fire Department, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and others. The ice plant was evacuated, he said, and a portion of Route 109 was shut down for a period of time.

“I expect a few people will put in applications,” to join the team as a result of the recent technician training course, Allen said.

The York County Hazardous Materials Response Team currently numbers 17, said York County government’s Roger Hooper. The team specializes in transportation and industrial incidents, working in tandem with local fire departments, Hooper explained, and is comprised of local firefighters and police officers. He said the team’s organization and response method is similar to a volunteer fire department.

After several days of instruction and the mock exercises, the students took a final test, which leads to a technician level certification by their hosting fire department or company, said Nygren.

“There’s so much to learn,” said South Portland firefighter Shamus Cole, who like the other class members, had to have completed an operations class before advancing to the technician class. The South Portland department is part of a regional team that responds to incidents. “This is definitely good,” he said.

Hooper said training such as the technician course recently offered, is highly specialized.

“These are unique skills, possessed by unique people, for use in unique situations,” Hooper said.