US 422 and SR 306 Overturned Sodium Hydroxide Tanker

Annual Report 2004

Chagrin/Southeast

Regional

Hazardous

Materials

Response Team

Haz-Mat Team Basics

The Chagrin / Southeast Haz-Mat Response Team is operated by the Chagrin/Southeast Council of Governments. The team was formed in 1990 to assist local fire departments in responding to incidents involving industrial chemicals. The team consists of 28 specially trained Hazmat Technicians, 5 Hazmat Specialists and 4 WMD Specialists who have each completed thousands of hours of training in chemical identification, instrumentation, packaging, chemical and physical

properties of materials, chemical protective clothing, spill control and fire control. All of the haz-mat team members are cross-trained firefighters. In 1995, the team was also tasked with response to Confined Space Rescues. The team purchase equipment and conducted training to meet the challenge. In 1999, prior to the events of Sept 11, 2001, the Chagrin /Southeast Haz-Mat Team began special Domestic Preparedness training for response to terrorist incidents. Since the terrorist attack of 2001, the focus of the team has changed. More than half of our training and much of our equipment is specific to terrorism response. Our team members have adapted well to this challenge and we are prepared, along with the other haz-mat teams in our county, to defend our communities against the unthinkable. Our team maintains close relationships with the other haz-mat teams of Northeast Ohio. We have mutual aid agreements with Lake County, Portage County, Summit County, Westshore Hazmat, Southwest Emergency Response Team and work closely with the City of Cleveland. We continue to exchange services with the Hillcrest Technical Rescue Team and the Heights Area Special Rescue Team. We provide their communities with haz-mat emergency response and they provide our communities with technical rescue response. One of the best bargains for all the communities served by these exchange of services. This regional approach to hazmat and WMD response, as well as technical rescue, is cost-effective, maintains a high skill level and insures our communities are ready to respond.

Chagrin / Southeast Hazardous Materials Response Team

Proudly Serving:

Bainbridge Twp Lyndhurst Russell Twp Beachwood Maple Heights Shaker Heights Bedford Mayfield Hts Solon Bedford Heights Mayfield Village South Euclid Chagrin Falls Moreland Hills South Russell Cleveland Hts North Randall University Hts Garfield Heights Oakwood Walton Hills Gates Mills Orange Warrensville Hts Glenwillow Pepper Pike Woodmere Highland Hts Richmond Hts

Haz-Mat Team Vehicles and Equipment The Haz-Mat Team owns and operates almost $1,000,000 worth of vehicles, tools and equipment, including:

Hazmat 1 Housed at Solon Fire-Rescue Includes Research Materials, Computers, Light Tower, Weather Station, Level A, B and C Chemical Protective Clothing, Chemical, Biological and Radiological Monitors, Meters, Detectors, Colormetric Tubes, Plugging & Patching Equipment, Decontamination Equipment, Chlorine Kits, WMD Detection and Identification Equipment

Regional Command Post Housed at Maple Heights Fire Dept. Includes Research Materials, Computers, Two Office/Meeting Rooms, Communications Center with VHF-Lo, VHF-Hi, UHF 420, UHF 800 capabilities, Copy Machine, Fax Machine, Cellular Capabilities, 36 Portable Radios, On-Board Generator, Television and Radio Monitoring Capability

Hazmat 2 Housed at Garfield Heights Fire Dept. Includes Bulk Supplies, Hydrocarbon Absorbant Booms, Pillows and Pads, PVC Piping, Portable Generators, Portable Pumps (Pneumatic and Electric), Tents, Recovery and Overpack Drums, Compressed Air Cylinders to Operate Tools and Pumps, Clay Absorbant, Tools and Equipment to Support Extended Operations

Haz-Mat Team Vehicles and Equipment

Additional suits, bulk supplies and support materials are cached within the region. The Hazmat Team also maintains a Class “B” Foam Bank with 120 gallons of AFFF-ATC Foam Concentrate on Hazmat 1, with an additional 150 gallons at the supply cache. Russell Twp has offered their foam tanker with 3,000 gallons of water and 120 gallons of AFFF-ATC foam concentrate to respond on a special call basis. The resources of the other three Cuyahoga County Teams, which are similarly equipped, are also available 24/7 through mutual aid.

Hazmat 3 Housed at Warrensville Heights Fire Dept. Includes Confined Space Rescue Equipment, Tripods, Harnesses, Rope, Helmets, Rigging Equipment, Ventilation Fans and Ductwork, LSP Halfback, SKED Stretcher, Lock-Out Tag-Out Kit, Supplied Air Respirators with Hose Reels, Breathing Air Manifold, and Related CSR Equipment

Haz-Mat Team Highlights of 2004 • Personnel

o New members Tim Brown of Solon Fire-Rescue Steve Voigt of Russell Twp FD Chris Hrach of Bedford Hts

o Retirements Ken Ledford of Bedford Heights FD

• Equipment o New Trailer for Confined Space Rescue Equipment purchased and placed

in-service. Currently housed at Warrensville Heights Fire Dept. o Guardian Reader purchased to enhance detection and identification of

biological weapons. o PEAC Hazmat/WMD Software purchased for use in research and

identification of hazardous materials and WMD agents. o Purchased eleven replacement batteries for Hazmat Tactical Portable

Radios o Homeland Security Grant Funding Used to Acquire:

Seventy-four new Level “B” Chemical Suits Replacement Biological Test Strips Replacement Colormetric Tubes Replacement Confidence Test for APD2000 Replacement CMS Tubes Replacement CDS/WMD Test Kits Draeger Chip Management Meter SKED Hazmat Rescue Stretchers (4) Pelican Storage Cases (8) Adapter Cables for Incident Command Radio Interface Ludlum Radiological Metering Kits (5) Level “A” Suit Test Kits (2)

• Operations

o Worked with Cuyahoga County Hazmat Committee to standardize equipment and supplies for interoperability

o Active participation on Cuyahoga County Emergency Services Advisory Board to insure region’s voice is heard in county decision-making, and to obtain info beneficial to region

o Active participation on Cuyahoga County Counter and Anti-Terrorism Committee (CAT) which developing strategy and administers distribution of Homeland Security Funding

o Active participation with new Ohio Hazmat Technical Advisory Committee (OEMA) in Columbus, to develop regional response capabilities and develop statewide hazmat response plan

Haz-Mat Team Highlights of 2004

• Major Operations and Planning o Chagrin/SE Hazmat, Cleveland FD Hazmat, 52nd Ohio National Guard -

Weapons of Mass Destruction – Civil Support Team (CST) and other hazmat, fire, EMS and law enforcement resources of the county coordinated efforts for several events, including:

International Children’s Games – 2004

• July 23th – Aug 2nd, 2004 • 3,000 student athletes from around the world, including

Israel, Iran, Iraq, Chechnya, Russia, Great Britain, US, Canada, Australia and many other countries attended, along with hundreds of coaches, elected officials, national leaders, parents, siblings and national security details.

• The games were held in Cleveland, Lyndhurst, South Euclid, Cleveland Heights, Beachwood, University Heights, Pepper Pike and several other communities

• Hazmat team members visited each venue, photographed and evaluated risk for each site

• Hazmat developed an extensive response plan with briefings for each involved community in the months before the games.

• Hazmat participated in briefings and planning with ATF, FBI, DHS, State Department, Secret Service, ONG-CST, Cuyahoga County Health Department, Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine, RTA, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, SWAT Teams and Bomb Teams

• Hazmat stood-up a “GO TEAM” throughout the games, and did continuous air monitoring of the sports venues for WMD agents

• Hazmat maintained a continuous presence with the Emergency Operations Center in Cleveland

• The International Children’s Games were conducted without any significant incidents related to hazmat or terrorism. The planning process was worth it’s weight in gold, establishing and enhancing relationships with other agencies and developing a major incident response plan.

Presidential Visits • 2004 was an election year and Ohio was a pivotal state, which

brought numerous visits from the candidates to the Greater Cleveland area

• Chagrin/SE Hazmat participated in three presidential visit details, as well as standby missions for four others in Cleveland, Strongsville, Parma and Lake County.

• These included Secret Service briefings and working with CST. • We also were on high level standby during the Vice-Presidential

Debate in Cleveland.

Haz-Mat Team Highlights of 2004 • Major Training Initiatives

o Lt. Brian Hitt from Orange Fire Department, and one of our five Haz-Mat Control Officers completed his three day Hazmat Branch Officer and Hazmat Branch Safety Officer course at the Michigan State Police Academy.

o Three hazmat technicians attended the IAFC Hazmat Teams Conference in

Baltimore in June 2004. This is one of the premier hazmat training conferences in the US. This training refreshed their skills and knowledge in numerous areas and was the basis of the training programs offered to our team.

o Bedford Fire Department sponsored a functional hazmat exercise in

October 2004. The four hour drill was held at Hukill Chemical on Krick Road in Bedford and involved more than 60 personnel. The simulated incident tested the fire department dispatch system, the fire department as first responders, the hazmat team as follow-on responders and the personnel at Hukill Chemical to carry out their plan.

o In September, the Hazmat Team participated in a major full scale exercise

with the Hillcrest Region and Hillcrest Hospital. The incident, simulating a terrorist attack with anthrax, nerve agent and improvised explosive devices was held on the campus of Ursuline College in Pepper Pike. The first responders rescued victims, performed mass decontamination and provided triage, treatment and transport for dozens of victims. The hazmat team responded to identify and then isolate the weapon agents. The exercise was very successful with many lessons learned.

o The Chagrin/Southeast Hazmat Team sponsored the 5th

Annual Ohio Hazmat Teams Conference in November 2004. The conference, held at the Solon Community Center, was attended for over 120 hazmat technicians from fourteen different hazmat teams in Northeast Ohio. The program included speakers from Ohio EPA, Orlando, FL Fire Dept, Maple Heights Fire Department, Wichita,KS Fire Dept, Erie County Emergency Services, NY, Ohio National Guard and Strongsville Fire Dept. Topics included: Response to Mercury Spills, CAMEO Software, Major Natural Gas Leaks & Explosions, Methamphetamine Labs, Dirty Bombs, Basic Toxicology, WMD Capabilities and vendors.

All of the tuition and travel expenses for the above training programs were paid for with state and federal grant monies.

Haz-Mat Team Training – 2004

01/09/04 FBI Evidence Collection & Preservation, Cleveland FTA 01/13/04 2004 Planning, Goals and Training, Solon FD 01/13/04 PID Instrumentation, Ryan Watson, NEORSD 02/04/04 Brian Hitt, Hazmat Branch Officer and HM Branch Safety Officer 02/17/04 Radiation Instrumentation Training, Solon FD 03/03/04 Confined Space Rescue Drill, Solon WWTP 03/16/04 Communications Equipment, Radio Interface and Command Post 04/20/04 Alexeter Guardian Reader Training – Biological Weapons Detection 05/19/04 Cuyahoga County – US Coast Guard, LEPC Exercise, Cleveland, OH 06/15/04 WMD Instrumentation, Solon FD 07/12/04 Ohio National Guard WMD-CST Training, Cleveland, OH 07/20/04 ICG Briefing, Solon FD 07/23/04 Confined Space Rescue Training, Solon FD 08/17/04 HMRT Orientation and Equipment Demo, Russell Twp FD 08/24/04 Confined Space Rescue Training, Solon FD 08/31/04 Dupont Rail Car Training, Norfolk Southern Railroad 09/01/04 Dupont Rail Car Training, Norfolk Southern Railroad 09/02/04 Dupont Rail Car Training, Norfolk Southern Railroad 09/03/04 Dupont Rail Car Training, Norfolk Southern Railroad 10/20/04 Hukill Chemical Drill, Bedford, OH 11/06/04 Ohio Hazmat Teams Conference, Solon, OH 12/04/04 New Hazmat Team Member Orientation, Solon, OH

2004 Haz-Mat Incident Log

Incident Number and Date

Location and Nature of Incident Type of Haz-Mat Team Response

2004-01 04/11/2004

Lyndhurst Fire Department, 5301 Mayfield Rd, Lyndhurst, Ohio 44124 Odor Investigation, Possible Sewer Gas

HCO Phone Consult

2004-02 06/14/2004

2700 Richmond Road, Beachwood, Ohio Hydrochloric Acid in Garbage Truck

Full Team Response

2004-03 08/06/2004

5155 Warner Road, Garfield Heights, OH 44125 Barium Nitrate Spill in Trailer

Full Team Response

2004-04 08/12/2004

190 Murwood Dr, Moreland Hills, OH 44022 Hydrochloric Acid in Garbage Truck and on Roadway

HCO Limited Response

2004-05 09/22/2004

Westbound Entrance Ramp to US422 from Chillicothe Rd. Bainbridge Twp, Ohio 44023 Overturned Sodium Hydroxide Tanker

Full Team Response

2004-06 11/16/2004

Progressive Insurance Company 5910 Landerhaven, Mayfield Heights, OH 44143 Suspicious Envelope with White Powder

HCO Phone Consult

2004-07 12/30/2004

Mayfield Heights Post Office 5815 Landerbrook, Mayfield Hts, OH 44124 Explosion at US Post Office

HCO Phone Consult

2004-08 12/31/2004

Unspecified Location Bedford, Ohio 44146 Methamphetamine Lab Investigation by SWAT

HCO Phone Consult

Chagrin/Southeast Hazardous Materials Response Team

Chagrin/Southeast Hazmat Response Team Roster, Cuyahoga Count

Name Organization

ARCANGELI, SCOTT GARFIELD HTS FIRE DEPT

BAUCK, CHUCK SOLON FIRE DEPT

BENEDICT, ALBERT SOLON FIRE DEPARTMENT

BROOKS, JASON CHAGRIN FALLS FIRE DEPT

BROWN, TIM SOLON FIRE-RESCUE

COST, DAVID GARFIELD HTS FIRE DEPT

COYNE, JOHN SOLON FD

DOPSLAF, DEAN OAKWOOD FIRE DEPT

FERRIS, JAMES MAPLE HTS FD

HITT, BRIAN ORANGE FIRE DEPT

HRACH, CHRIS BEDFORD HTS FIRE DEPT

IGNASIAK, MARK ORANGE VILLAGE FIRE DEPT

LISY, THOMAS GARFIELD HTS FIRE DEPT

MENARY, MARK BAINBRIDGE FIRE DEPT

NEADING, CHRIS BEDFORD FIRE DEPT

NELSON, PAT GARFIELD HTS FIRE DEPT

NEMETH, GARRY SOLON FIRE DEPARTMENT

PAULEY, MICHAEL BEDFORD HEIGHTS FIRE DEPT

PIANO, MARIO CHAGRIN FALLS FIRE DEPT

UNGER, PAUL GARFIELD HTS FIRE DEPT

VEDDER, ELLITA WARRENSVILLE HTS FD

VEDDER, MARK SOLON FIRE DEPARTMENT

VOIGT, STEVE RUSSELL TWP FIRE DEPT

VOJTEK, MARK MAPLE HEIGHTS FIRE DEPT

WALKOS, HOMER MAPLE HEIGHTS FIRE DEPT

WEISBLATT, MEL ORANGE VILLAGE FIRE DEPT

WHEELER, WILLIAM MAPLE HEIGHTS FIRE DEPT

WLOSZEK, STEVE BEDFORD HTS FIRE DEPT

Wednesday, February 16, 2005