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First responders come to rescue against hazardous material incidents

US Marine Corps News

4/12/2010
By Cpl. Manuel F. Guerrero, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar

The Bob Hope Theater aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar was the site of a simulated terrorist hazardous material attack, April 7.

Within minutes the Miramar Fire Department and Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighters responded to the incident. Two ARFF Marines donned fully-encapsulated suits, while the rest of the crash crewmen and firefighters on scene devised a plan to neutralize the hazardous component.

“The mission was to mitigate the problem and carry out the mission,” said Mark Manring, the chemical, biological, radiological nuclear and high-yield explosive protection officer aboard the air station, who coordinated the simulated incident. “The firefighters and ARFF Marines set up a command site with a site supervisor, group leader, safety advisor so everyone has a mission into what happens inside of the building. There is constant communication going on.”

The communication between the two first responders and the rest of the crew outside is crucial for the mission to go smoothly so they can neutralize it on a timely basis, commented Sgt. Shawn L. Christ, a crash crewman with ARFF.

As the two Marines entered the stage of the dark theater, they found a 150-pound tank filled with chlorine, the source of the hazardous material, inside one of the closets. With their chlorine kits they began to secure and lock the source of the leak with a dome capsule and chain provided in the kit, added Manring.

The training was the last exercise of a six-week curriculum through the California State Institute Training in Hazardous Material culminating in their qualification as California State Hazardous Material Specialists.

Not only did the course help the ARFF Marines and firefighters with hazardous material emergencies aboard the air station, they have also gone outside the gate to prepare for potential attacks affecting the base.

“It’s good community relations working with them,” said Manring. “It’s San Diego’s county mission but they can use us for support.”

The training curriculum goes through six levels: A, B, C, D, F and G. In the first four weeks, they learned the chemistry of hazardous chemicals as well as response, techniques and procedures to neutralize them, qualifying them as California State Hazardous Material Technicians. During levels F and G, the Marines and firefighters applied the techniques they learned to become full-fledged specialists, added Manring.

With the theater secure of all hazardous material, the air station’s fire department and ARFF are now California State certified to respond on and off base.