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Having the latest communications technology is vital to hazmat response, said Capt. John Douglas.

Story and Photo by John Perry

Suddenly, overhead lights flash. Morning-shift coffee mugs clank onto the linoleum tabletop. Ten firefighters listen expectantly.

An Office of Emergency Communications dispatcher’s voice crackles through fire station speakers: Train derailment … chemical release … Houston Avenue.

Station 22, six miles southeast of City Hall, houses the only Hazardous Materials Response Team in Houston. Their chairs empty quickly.

Seconds later, with blaring sirens, they lurch toward the disaster in two specially equipped trucks.

Ladder units closer to the accident have already arrived and transmit reports over a dedicated HMRT radio frequency: “Catastrophic containment failure.” The steel shell of an overturned tank car ruptured, spewing pressurized gas. A low-lying cloud has formed and is wafting toward downtown rush hour traffic.

In a garbled radio transmission, a female first-responder’s voice stutters: “Train wreck … yellow-green fog … eyes stinging … can’t see … can’t breathe.” Her words dissolve into coughing.

Maneuvering an HMRT truck, HFD Capt. John Douglas, in hazmat since 1997, is trained to identify toxic gasses. He punches the fog’s characteristics into a mobile data computer tied into the Houston Emergency Center.

The preliminary assessment: chlorine gas, similar to that unleashed by the German Army in 1915. But instead of a French trench, a northerly breeze was pushing poisonous plumes toward pedestrians.

“It attacks respiratory organs, the throat, nose and eyes,” Douglas said. “Without treatment, it leads to a slow, painful death by asphyxiation.”

With adrenaline pumping, the teams suit up in chemical-protective gear with air tanks and respirators, but delay pulling masks over their heads. Temperature is a critical factor. Though not heavy, the airtight “chem” suits can quickly become sweatboxes, making heat exhaustion an additional hazard.

“Like wrapping yourself in cellophane, there’s no ventilation at all,” said Douglas, pitching forward in the lead truck.

Hazmat personnel suffer more injuries from heat-related stress than chemical exposure. For short-term relief, responders can place cold packs in their armpits or cooling vests inside their suits.

When the HMRT arrives, they will enter the “hot zone,” using hand-held monitors to reconfirm the chemical’s identity.

“Half the battle in hazmat is figuring out what you’re dealing with,” Douglas said.

Their primary purpose is saving lives.

“First, we’ll evacuate the population away from vapors,” Douglas said.

If the air is too clouded, HMRT will use a thermal imaging camera to see through the smoke or fog to rescue victims.

“After everyone’s safely out of range, we’ll move in and try to patch the tank car leak,” Douglas said.

Fortunately, this incident was only a drill – a training scenario for what could happen.

Just nine months earlier, a derailment with a chlorine leak killed three people and injured 50 others on the edge of San Antonio. Eight died in a similar South Carolina accident six months before that.

Rail traffic through Houston intersections is a way of life. As are overturned 18-wheelers and warehouse fires of toxic inventories.

In 2005, HMRT responded to 1,251 incidents within city limits, including 210 chemical spills, 180 gas releases and 40 explosions.

Hazmat life in the big city
Blake White, HMRT district chief, said the key to handling hazmat responses is their ongoing training that includes case studies, risk assessment techniques, effective decision-making and familiarity with the latest technology.

“This station responds to some of the most dangerous situations,” White said. “That’s why it’s reassuring to have Capt. Douglas. He brings a lot of experience with him.”

In the cold reality of post-9/11 America, HMRT must also train to respond to a terrorist detonating a dirty bomb.

“If there were ever a WMD incident, we would be the primary responders,” Douglas said. “Our unit would be the first in there with radiological detectors and decontamination equipment.”

Houston’s HMRT began Oct. 25, 1979, under Fire Chief V.E. Rogers and District Chief Max H. McRae. Today, Station 22 at 7825 Harrisburg Blvd. has 44 members with 10 hazmat responders working four different shifts.

Douglas works a 24-hour shift, 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., twice a week. Married with two young children, he enjoys days off with his family.

Recently, Douglas made the second-highest score on the senior captain’s exam and will be promoted.

“I always wanted to be a firefighter,” said Douglas who joined HFD in 1989. “You never know what the day will bring, and that’s part of the excitement.”

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