Freeborn hazmat team equipped and ready
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, August 26, 2003
Suppose a truck carrying toxic waste spills somewhere in Freeborn County. The disaster won’t have to wait for a hazardous materials (hazmat) team to travel the 50 and 70 miles from Mankato and Rochester anymore.
The city of Freeborn’s fire department became equipped this month to deal with such an emergency, and a slew of others, thanks to a grant from the Department of Homeland Security intended to protect the country in case of a terrorist attack.
&uot;We really don’t think we’re high-risk in Freeborn County for international terrorism,&uot; said Steve Seipp, a volunteer firefighter with the Freeborn Fire Department. He acknowledges the possibility, but said that most likely the team will be used for other purposes.
&uot;We’d just as soon let the trucks sit and not have to go anywhere, but that’s not going to happen,&uot; Seipp said. He gave a number of scenarios for when the trailer containing the new equipment might be used. He said the hazmat team will most often assist the drug task force, dealing with the toxic environments of methamphetamine laboratories.
But with trucks on interstates 90 and 35 coming through the county hauling all kinds of toxins and nuclear waste, he said any of them could crash and possibly leak. Also, common chemicals like chlorine and anhydrous ammonia are already in the area and, intentionally or not, the possibility of disaster exists, he said.
And since the nearest fully equipped hazmat teams other than Freeborn’s are in Mankato and Rochester, Freeborn’s team can get there first if it happens in Freeborn County and the surrounding area. The team is made up of 24 firefighters from several area towns.
With suits that can shield firefighters from a variety of toxins and chemicals, the fire department’s hazmat trailer is better equipped than the Albert Lea Fire Department in the area of hazardous materials. The $33,000 in grants, distributed by the Minnesota Department of Safety, so far have provided a number of chemical testers, breathing gear and training for the fighters.
Albert Lea Fire Chief Richard Sydnes said it will be useful in the county, but said he didn’t think there was much need for it. He said that in 30 years, his department has never needed a hazmat team. He said a couple of years ago, Clarks Grove used Rochester’s. He said if Albert Lea needs a hazmat team they’ll probably call Rochester or Mankato, which have computerized equipment and more expertise.
He said part of the reason his department doesn’t have such a team is because of the cost of equipment and training. But he said he thought the Freeborn hazmat team would have some uses because of its proximity.
Sheriff Mark Harig said the team could have some uses in ventilating methamphetamine laboratories and detoxifying people who have been in the labs.
Seipp, who is also a fire equipment salesman for Heiman Fire Equipment, said he and his department wanted to put together a hazmat team for years but had never funding. Some of the equipment came from his company, but the fire department asked for bids for all the purchases, he said.
(Contact Tim Sturrock at tim.sturrock @albertleatribune.com or 379-3438.)