03/28/2008
BRUNSWICK — Oil, ammonia and other chemicals — even radioactive and
biological material — are transported up and down the highway to Maine's
research and manufacturing sites and teams of professionals stand by in case
there's an accident.
But despite their fancy new truck and science fiction-like suits, the Brunswick
Hazardous Materials Team doesn't get noticed much, and that's the point, said
team chief Bob Robitaille.
"We do our job, and we do it well, but you don't hear about it because we do it
well," he says. "We're out there to make the community safe, not to scare
people."
Yet a recent study indicates that "darn near everything that comes and goes
through the state of Maine goes through Cumberland County," said Brunswick Fire
Chief Clark Labbe, including chemicals to paper companies and commodity plants,
as well as radioactive materials to hospitals and research facilities.
But Robitaille and Labbe say that despite such noxious chemicals in the area,
the HazMat team has dwindled in size over recent years, and boasts only 15
members. As a result, they're looking for a few good men or women.
The HazMat team was started about 20 years ago at the initiative of fire chiefs
in Cumberland County. After the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the federal government
became more concerned with terrorism and weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), and
more federal funding was available, Labbe said.
Although the team is based in Brunswick, the town of Brunswick doesn't support
the team financially — the team's $1.5 million truck is maintained by the state.
Brunswick's team is one of 11 Regional Response Teams throughout the state, and
responds to calls anywhere in Maine if the Maine Emergency Management
Association calls. The Brunswick team's primary coverage area includes all of
Cumberland County north of the town of Cumberland, all of Sagadahoc and Lincoln
counties, and portions of Androscoggin and Kennebec counties.
Locally staffed
Robitaille, a full-time firefighter for the town of Brunswick, leads the
team, and two other members are career firefighters — one, Brunswick Police Sgt.
Thomas Garrepy, is the new fire chief in the town of Bowdoin. Other members —
all volunteer, although they are "paid on-call positions" — live in Bath,
Boothbay, Lisbon, Phippsburg and West Bath.
Unlike the Brunswick Fire Department, members are not required to live in the
town of Brunswick, Labbe said, which is sometimes an advantage when the team
responds to incidents in other towns.
One such incident occurred recently in West Bath, when an oil truck rolled over
near a stream that, not far away, emptied into the ocean. The HazMat team
responded with the West Bath Fire Department to contain the spill, using a boom
and other equipment to contain oil.
Oil trucks that roll must be offloaded of their contents before the truck can be
righted, Robitaille said.
"We did the drilling and tapping of the tank above the fuel," he said. The
process took about five hours, with seven HazMat team members as well as
Department of Environmental Protection and Clean Harbors workers on site.
Other significant incidents have included several ammonia spills at the former
Stinson Seafood site in Bath and several fuel incidents that occurred around
Brunswick this fall, Labbe said. But the team has also responded to calls
throughout the state as part of the Regional Response Team, or even out of
state, should the incident be serious enough. At one point, a delivery truck
pumped the wrong chemical into a tank at the Portland Water District — a tank
that already contained another chemical, Robitaille said, and Brunswick's team
assisted in that clean-up.
Members of Brunswick's HazMat team must have "operations level" training,
Robitaille said, meaning members get the 24 hours of instruction. Once someone
joins the team, they attend another 80 hours of training in state, and are also
asked to attend 48 hours of training on weapons of mass destruction out of
state. While team members receive a small wage and grant funds are available to
cover training, oftentimes people must take time off from work and no
reimbursement is available for that, Labbe said.
The team holds some sort of minor training every month, with major training
events three or four times a year. In September, officials plan a regional
exercise with Portland, South Portland, the U.S. Coast Guard and some towns in
York County. But aside from such major exercises, Labbe said, people may not
hear much about the team, so recruiting is difficult.
"We're out there to make the community safe, not to scare people," he said.
Anyone 18 years or older in good health — in particular, firefighters from area
departments — is encouraged to contact Labbe if they are interested in joining
the Brunswick HazMat Team. The team will provide an extensive physical
examination, which candidates must pass. To contact Labbe, call (207) 725-5541
est. 11.