Wired for the Worst: Hazmat in Portage County, continued
By Sally McGinty
Our last column provided an overview of hazardous materials and governance in Portage County. This column focuses on response capabilities and how a hazmat incident could affect you.
The Village of Plover Fire Department is under contract with Portage County to provide Hazardous Materials Response Team (HazMat Team) Level B support.
This support consists of operations-level personnel for hazmat incidents and a truck and trailer stocked with materials for hazmat emergencies.
All Plover Fire Department members are certified at the operator level, completing a state-level First Responder Operations course.
When Plover responds to a spill, the fire department may be reimbursed through the county, which bills the party responsible for the spill.
The Waupaca County Hazardous Materials Response Team supplements Portage County’s HazMat Team with Level A support, providing more highly trained technician-level personnel.
The Plover Fire Department participates in the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), mentioned in our last column. The LEPC reviews and approves emergency response plans for local facilities.
According to Plover Fire Chief Mark Deaver, the Plover Fire Department also takes part in discussion-based (“tabletop”) exercises with local industrial facilities, such as Monogram Foods, McCain Foods and Lineage Logistics. These exercises help review plans, test response actions and strengthen readiness.
In an extreme, large-scale incident, state or federal assistance may be needed. Examples include train derailments with spills, large factory chemical incidents or multi-vehicle crashes involving trailers carrying hazardous materials.
Events like these would require outside support and could draw national attention to Portage County.
If you live near railroad tracks, an industrial facility or a route with heavy truck traffic, you could be affected by a spill.
Depending on the materials involved, officials may order an evacuation or direct people in the area to shelter in place. Hazardous materials can cause fatalities, so it’s important to listen to local authorities and follow their directions.
An evacuation order requires people to leave the designated area immediately. Your goal is to safely leave the area of the incident with your family members and pets as quickly as possible.
Consider keeping a go-bag ready in case an evacuation is ordered. It should include medications and copies of your prescriptions, copies of important documents, masks, clothing, phone chargers, duct tape, a first aid kit and money in small bills. You may also want to include trash bags and several pairs of disposable gloves.
A shelter-in-place order means you are directed to stay where you are. Your goal is to hunker down and minimize exposure.
Recommended actions include bringing pets indoors, locking doors, closing windows, closing fireplace dampers, turning off ventilation systems that pull in outside air, and sealing vents, exhaust fans and gaps around doors and windows.
You should turn on the radio or monitor your mobile news app and notify a friend or relative outside your area to let them know you are safe.
When the emergency is over, you will get the “all clear” from police, fire or other officials. This notification will let you know it is safe to leave your shelter or return to your home.
Chief Deaver recommends that county residents stay aware of their surroundings and use resources such as the Portage County Community Alert system, which would notify residents of a hazmat incident.