City of Battle Creek issued the following announcement on Mar 30.
The Battle Creek Fire Department Hazardous Materials Regional Response Team was validated as a FEMA Type II Hazardous Materials Response Company on March 16, 2022. This makes them the second team in the entire state to complete the new Hazmat Team Validation process.
The new process is designed to validate the capabilities of a team or company responding to disasters in the state of Michigan. It is the result of a partnership between the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Training Center (EMHSTC) and the Michigan Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS).
The validation proves that the Battle Creek Hazardous Materials Team, which is made up of 18 members, is ready to serve the City of Battle Creek and beyond.
“I am proud of our team’s expertise and commitment to responding to hazardous materials incidents,” said Battle Creek Fire Chief Brian Sturdivant. “This validation reinforces what we already knew; that we have a skilled and capable team ready to respond to these types of incidents here in Calhoun County.”
MABAS is often called to provide mutual aid to jurisdictions dealing with hazardous materials incidents. By completing the process, MABAS can ensure that, when Battle Creek Hazmat responds on their behalf, they know they will be proficient in proper response protocols.
“Battle Creek Hazmat showed impressive capability and efficiency throughout this validation process,” said Dave McIntyre, Director of Special Operations with Michigan MABAS. “We are thrilled to have this system in place to measure the capabilities of our state hazmat teams and be able to deploy them with confidence.”
The validation requires a self-evaluation every three years and a complete audit through MI-MABAS every five years.
Original source can be found here.
Source: City of Battle Creek
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