Work with people and agencies that may provide additional advice and assistance

ARCHIVED – Hazardous material incidents are often complex and protracted, requiring many resources and a great deal of specialist equipment to resolve them. Because of this complexity, it is essential that the incident commander works with all appropriate agencies when attempting to control and contain hazardous releases.

Fire and rescue service responders must remember that they are not the ‘experts’ when it comes to dealing with hazardous materials. For the successful conclusion of a hazardous material incident, fire and rescue services rely on other agencies and organisations for support in carrying out specialist tasks, such as weather monitoring (CHEMET), air quality monitoring at large scale incidents (environmental agencies), product disposal, site clean up, substance identification or specialist product advice. By working with a wide range of people, organisations and agencies, fire and rescue services can successfully resolve the emergency phase of hazardous materials incidents and ensure that those responsible for the substance and/or the site take back control when there is no significant risk to the community at large.