Cookeville Fire Department pursuing Level Two Hazmat status through the acquisition of advanced chemical and gas analyzers funded by a state matching grant.
Fire Chief Benton Young said the technology will aid during emergencies such as overturned tractor trailers on the interstate or factory chemical spills.
“It also cuts down on the time it would, right?” Young said, “Instead of having to track down MSDS sheets or whatever it may be, we can use these machines and immediately find out what hazards and toxics are present right when we are.”
Young said the new equipment includes a Viper chemical analyzer for liquids and solids and an Explorer IR chemical gas analyzer for atmospheric testing.
“So we have nothing like this currently at all,” Young said. “We do have some gas analyzers, five-gas, which can tell your O2 saturation, your CO saturation, stuff like that, but we have nothing that can identify these chemicals.”
Young said the Viper analyzer features an internal database of approximately 39,000 substances for immediate identification. The department plans to test with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency once the equipment arrives to secure the advanced status.
“Once that test is completed and approved by them, we could advance to a Level 2 Hazmat team, which there’s only one other one in the state and I believe that’s Kingsport,” Young said. “I think there’s only two Class As in the state and that’s Nashville and Chattanooga, so that’s a huge advancement for us and our Hazmat team.”
Young said the total project cost is $204,427.76, with the state providing $155,955.20. The city share increased to $48,432.56 due to a 12-month lapse between the grant approval and the final contract, which led to rising equipment prices.
“We operate on a mutual aid, state mutual aid agreements with other departments, so if they need us, they know they can call on us and this capability really just expands their capabilities tremendously,” Young said.
Young said the grant also covers training materials, including Level A suits and a HazSim Pro 3 simulator. The simulator allows technicians to practice using the new gas meters in a controlled environment.