Kansas Hazmat Team Awarded NFPA Educational Grant
“The Salina Fire Department Hazmat Response Team is a proven leader in community involvement, education, emergency communications, and implementing cutting edge technologies,” said Ken Isman, chair of the Warren E. Isman Task Force.
The National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Fire Safety Educational Memorial Fund Committee selected the Salina Fire Department Hazmat Response Team (HMRT) from Salina, Kan., as the recipient of the 2012 Warren E. Isman Educational Grant.
“The Salina Fire Department Hazmat Response Team is a proven leader in community involvement, education, emergency communications, and implementing cutting edge technologies,” said Ken Isman, chair of the Warren E. Isman Task Force, a subcommittee of the Fire Safety Educational Memorial Fund Committee. “We are pleased to provide this award to members of Salina’s Hazmat team and support continued training as it applies to this particular field.”
Award recipients select a conference where they can attend specialized hazardous materials training and education sessions. The selected team has the opportunity to gain knowledge and enhance its ability to excel in this specialized field. The funds from the 2012 Isman Grant will make it possible for the Salina Fire Department HMRT to attend the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ (IAFC) International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference in May 2012 in Baltimore.
The Salina Fire Department HMRT is a dual fire and EMS service providing fire suppression, EMS, hazmat, and technical rescue response for the city of Salina. The department’s hazmat team is also under contract with the state of Kansas serving as a state regional hazardous materials response team. They respond to an average of 130 hazmat-related incidents a year ranging from small fuel spills to highway tanker roll-overs.
The $5,000 grant is available to any established incident response team from a fire department, police department, or other public-funded program. The deadline for 2012 applications is Sept. 15, 2012.