Austin Fire's Hazmat Team Awarded Isman Grant
It will allow the Austin Fire Department Hazardous Materials Response Team to attend the IAFC International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference, June 6-9 in Baltimore.
The National Fire Protection Association's Fire Safety Educational Memorial Fund Committee has selected the Austin, Texas Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Response Team as the recipient of the 2013 Warren E. Isman Educational Grant. This allows the team to attend the IAFC International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference, which will take place June 6-9 in Baltimore.
"The Austin Hazardous Materials Response Team has demonstrated careful and effective methods and mitigation strategies in protecting their jurisdiction from hazardous material threats. We are encouraged by their efforts and pleased to help them achieve further hazmat safety tasks and goals," said Ken Isman, chair of the Warren E. Isman Task Force.
Grant recipients select a conference where they can attend specialized hazmat training and educational sessions. The Austin team consists of 92 technicians staffing three stations and serving a jurisdiction with 820,000 residents. During 2011, they responded to more than 1,700 hazmat-related incidents, according to the NFPA news release.
The award is available to any established incident response team from a fire department, police department, or other publicly funded program. Qualified applicants are evaluated on leadership qualities, communication abilities, and must have been trained in accordance with NFPA 472, Standard for Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents, and NFPA 473, Standard for Competencies for EMS Personnel Responding to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents. The closing date for 2014 applications is Sept. 15, 2013. For information about the application process, call Christine Ellis at 617-984-7244.