So, you want to be a HazMat Medic? PART 1 

Armando S. Bevelacqua

So, what is a HazMat Medic? That is a loaded question. The simple answer is one who cares for those injured by chemicals, however the discipline is so much more. Let me explain, if you were in a traffic accident, what type of emergency service would you like? One that only knows and understands how to remove you from a severely damaged vehicle or a service that not only understands the intricacies of extrication but also can provide pre-hospital care. The answer is obvious. This same logic applies in several areas of hazmat response. You can have a team that only understands the details of how a chemical will cause problems to the community or you can have a team that not only understands the community impact but also the human exposure possibilities.  

Several issues have been entering the emergency services over the last 30 years. Most of these issues may seem to be subtle or less important. For many departments, the Special Operations section of the service is one that is held together by shoestrings and spitballs that has an ever-decreasing budget. It seems only your larger departments are seemingly able to keep up with the Human Resources needed, training demand, and equipment (the equipment issues are an ever increasing and expanding problem not only for procurement but for training even in well-funded departments). 

That first issue of tightening budgets has been within the hazmat lexicon for over thirty plus years, however only recently I would say, in the last fifteen have we seen an interest in this subject area which is just what this article is about, that of the HazMat Medic. But what is and who are these individuals? The concept grew out of a need that the Orlando Fire Department HazMat team identified back in the late 1980s. It was determined that if a problem were to occur with the entry team, a specialized trained paramedic would be required. Similar to what the military has within the special forces, a specialized medic to take care of battlefield injuries. Here a specialized medic to take care of the team if an exposure occurs. 

By the later part of 1988 Orlando Fire Department had these specialized medics within the hazmat team deployment. These men and women had to be HazMat technician qualified, a state certified paramedic and additional training in toxicology and antidotal treatments. By 1990 this program was being taught at the local community college along with satellite programs across the State of Florida. Soon the protocols developed where a part of State HazMat Response and the medical SOP. At the same time New York EMS started to incorporate many of these concepts and before long EMS agencies across the country were using these medical SOP (Chief Maniscalco within New York City EMS saw the need and quickly started his program, using many of the issues and ideas under development in Florida). A few communities around the country at the time also were starting their own programs such as parts of Kentucky, Virginia and Colorado to name a few. What all these agencies had in common was that the department head saw a need and addressed it. 

Now EMS in the fire service has always been a sour subject. You have those that say that EMS has no place in the fire department, others will argue that fire is the most logical place. However, you may see this as part of the emergency services, the fact still remains that EMS in any emergency scene is a valuable commodity. When dealing with chemicals I would also like to have someone there looking at the issue from a health perspective. Enter the HazMat Medic! 

The total list of responsibilities for the HazMat Medic is a long one. The entire program is more than just a person that can administer antidotes but rather, medics that can research chemicals health effects, short term and long term; a medical advocate if an exposure occurs. Pre-entry and post-entry medical analysis for the health and safety of the Entry/Recon team, rehabilitation issues and PTSD peer support just to name a few. It really depends on how far you would want to take the program. For example, Tactical Emergency Casualty Care for K9’s has been realized adding yet another dimension under the poisoning heading for working service dogs.  

This is not to imply that EMT’s or Advanced EMT’s cannot have the training, on the contrary, the only must that is consistent is that the health care practitioner also have a high degrees of hazmat training (this training/education is also useful at USAR events, Confined Space rescue and below grade/trench rescues. Reason being, a non-hazmat person watching an over packing of a drum, or application of a Chlorine kit would just look at the operation as maybe interesting. A hazmat responder looks at the evolution and a high candidate for heat stress event and would prepare for as such. Having been a Paramedic for over 40 years, although it is comfortable to have one or two or more medics (sometimes this is true but not all medics are good medics) on scene, an interested highly trained EMT is worth their weight in gold to the attending Medic. Short answer a well-trained EMT can fill in with HazMat Medic guidance and will produce the same positive outcome. 

The second issue is that of Rescue teams. Before NFPA combined 472, 1072, and 473 (472 are the competencies for hazmat, while 1072 are the Job Performance Requirement’s to 472 competencies and 473 the medical hazmat requirements) into one document which is now NFPA 470 the term rescue, or rescue team was not addressed. Although this concept is new and different responders have different options on how this works. One statement I shall make here is that there is no such thing as a RIT, RECO, On Deck team, in the hazmat world! It is a rescue team for the entry team along with the backup team (this whole subject will be explored in a future article), The point here is that if an accident occurs in the hot zone the backup team would come in to assist in the removal of the injured responder and turn the responder over to the rescue team which would in turn decon and move the person into medical. 

So, as I stated before do you want the team that only knows how to remove you from the damaged vehicle and not attend to your injuries or would you rather have a knowledgeable medic remove you from the dirty toxic environment that not only understands the toxicology but understands what it is like in a protective ensemble AND is able to treat you appropriately.  

The answer is obvious – the individual that is specially trained in the discipline of Hazardous Materials and the medical consequences thereof.

Armando S. Bevelacqua

Armando S. Bevelacqua is 37 plus year veteran of the fire service. Retired from City of Orlando Fire Department, Orlando Florida where he served as Chief of Special Operations, Homeland Security and Emergency Medical Services Transport. 
He is an adjunct instructor through the Department of Defense as well as with several federal agencies involved with forced protection. Chief Bevelacqua serves on several federal, state and local committees. He held membership of the Inter-Agency Board (IAB) for Training and Exercise development. Technical Consultant and member to the NFPA 470 (472, 1072, 473), and 475 Technical Committees along with representation on the ASTM standards development committee for emergency response.