Definition:

Any element, compound, or combination thereof, which is flammable, corrosive, poisonous, explosive, etc., which because of handling, storage, processing or packaging, may have detrimental effects on the public, emergency personnel, equipment, and/or the environment.

Policy:

In incidents involving hazardous materials, the threat of fires, toxic fumes and in some cases explosions are always present.

The need for decisive action by responding emergency personnel to protect themselves and prevent injury to the public is imperative.

Officers responding to the scene of a hazardous material incident must attempt to immediately determine the product involved and the hazard the chemical represents and respond accordingly.

An immediate reference source for officers responding to a hazardous material incident would be the placard displayed on the vehicles. Officers can then determine the product involved by referring to the Hazardous Material Incident Guidebook available in every squad. The book is a short concise reference manual identifying the various hazardous chemicals, their hazards and what safety precautions must be exercised. The guidebook offers emergency personnel an easy to use reference for initial procedures to be implemented.

The guidebook for hazardous material incidents was specifically designed for use by responding emergency personnel at incidents occurring on highways, railroads, and fixed facilities.

Other reference sources available for responding emergency personnel would include shipping papers and package or container labels. In all modes of transport, federal regulations require the marking and labeling of containers carrying specified hazardous materials. The first priority in any hazardous material incidents is to determine the product(s) and amount(s) involved.

Procedures:

The Saint Paul Fire Department has the primary responsibility for hazardous material incidents and has a hazardous material unit available on a 24 hour basis. The hazardous material unit head will assume command of the scene upon arrival and remain in control until incident is terminated.

The primary function of the police department in responding to a hazardous material incident will include the following:

  1. Determine magnitude of the situation. Officers should attempt to determine the product involved while maintaining upwind position.
  2. Notification of Ramsey County Emergency Communication Center to request additional assistance: supervisor, additional squads and designate their location, Minnesota duty officer, fire department -- hazardous material unit, and police bomb squad.
  3. Initiate any life-saving measures without risk of exposure to officers themselves. If evacuation is necessary, critical factors to consider should include location and magnitude of incident, product involved, toxicity, fumes, and explosion potential. Weather conditions must also be considered in order to determine the area and distance to be evacuated (wind speed and direction, rain, etc.).
  4. Contain immediate area and establish a safe perimeter (crowd and traffic control).

Revised July 1, 2011

Last Edited: March 21, 2017