Group I

Regional Hazardous Materials Response Training and Response Project: Submitted by The North Central Florida Regional Hazardous Materials Team

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Letter of Transmittal 1

Title Page 2

Table of Contents 3

North Central Florida Hazardous Materials Team Overview 4

Criteria Area 1 - Project Explanation and Need 5

Criteria Area 2 - Proposal Benefits 9

Criteria Area 3 - Proposal Consistency 10

Criteria Area 4 - Methods/Approach 13

Budget 13

Criteria Area 5 - Matching Funds 15

Criteria Area 6 - Abilities and Qualifications 15

North Central Florida Hazardous Materials Team Overview:

June 9^th, 2000 was the organizational meeting of the newly created the North Central Florida Regional Hazardous Materials Team (NCFRHMT). This team is an outgrowth of the need to better protect the public from chemical releases and possible terrorist Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) attacks in our region. Some areas in rural north central Florida have Hazmat response times of two hours or more.

Five counties, Alachua, Bradford, Union, Columbia, and Gilchrist and three municipalities, Gainesville, Starke, and Lake City have entered into an Interlocal Agreement forming the NCFRHMT. The mission of the NCFRHMT is to respond to the hazardous materials incidents as requested to the 11 County members of the District 3 LEPC and to other areas are requested.

Each member has also enacted a Hazmat Cost Recovery Ordinance. Currently there is no funding mechanism for the NCFRHMT. The Gainesville Fire Rescue Team forms the core of the "Technical Response Team" for the NCFRHMT. The Team does not charge other local governments for response. This is accomplished through Cost Recovery Ordinances passed in each jurisdiction.

The goal of the NCFRHMT is to reduce response times by establishing a two-tiered response to a hazardous materials incidents and terrorist events involving hazardous materials. The first tier uses local "Initial Response Teams" to conduct primarily defensive operations to protect the public. Possible actions include: initial scene stabilization, emergency decon, initiation of evacuation and the determination for the need of a "Technical Team". Members of the Initial Response Team include Fire-Rescue, Law Enforcement, EMS, Hospitals, Emergency Management, or other agencies with a role in protecting public safety.

When requested, the "Technical Team" would be assembled to respond and provide technician level offensive operations. Based upon research conducted by the State Emergency Response Commission's District Response Team Workgroup, this is a unique approach to this problem.

In populous jurisdictions, a "regional team" is comprised of two or more technician level Hazmat Teams responding to support each other. The concept that we are using of Initial Response Teams supported by a Technical Team is groundbreaking. We believe that this approach could be successfully used in other similar, primarily rural jurisdictions where is just too expensive to pay for a traditional Hazmat team comprised of seven technicians immediately available at all times.

North Central Florida Regional Overview:

Much of North Central Florida is largely undeveloped and rich in natural areas and resources. In addition, it has been, until recently, relatively untouched by the rapid growth occurring in other parts of the state. The region consists of eleven counties covering an area of 6,813 square miles with Dixie and Taylor counties bordering the Gulf of Mexico. Inland counties include Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, and Union.

Over all the population density is very low with a 1999 population of around 434,000. Approximately one-half of the population of the region is located in Alachua County. Currently, the region's population comprises less than three percent of the state's total population. Special populations include a number of correctional institutions distributed throughout the region, the University of Florida, and a concentration of medical facilities in Gainesville.

Critical time variables impacting on emergency services include a large area with sparse population and limited available resources. Currently, the North Central Florida Local Emergency Planning Committee Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Plan recognizes the Gainesville Fire-Rescue Hazmat Team as the LEPC regional hazardous materials response team. Based on criteria being developed by the State Emergency Response Commission, district Hazmat teams will need to contractually commit to being immediately available on a continuous basis. The intent of this designation by the LEPC is to align the LEPC regional Hazmat team efforts with the district response team system being developed by the Florida State Emergency Response Commission.

Criteria Area 1

. Clearly identify, describe and document the emergency management need or problem, provide an in-depth explanation of the proposal, and show how it meets the need/solves the identified problem. If applicable, clearly link the emergency management need to the priority issue area(s) contained in the current Notice of Fund Availability (NOFA);

The emergency management need is how to increase public safety, from both accidental and intentional releases of hazardous materials, for a large rural area that has very limited Hazmat response resources. This proposal solves this need with a tiered approach to training and equipping responders in a five county area. We have been lucky that the following close calls did not turn into real disasters:

· Mayo Correctional Institute – an unknown chemical release sent many to the hospital and contamination removed all the ambulances from service in Taylor and Lafayette County.

· Gilchrist County tractor fire – a fire on a farm resulted in a school bus full of emergency responders being taken to hospitals in Gainesville with fear of organophosphate contamination.

· Toxic chemicals have been involved in wrecks on I-10 and I-75, as well as a couple of train wrecks on busy tracks running east west as well as north south.

This need resulted in the formation of the North Central Florida Regional Hazardous Materials Team. Participants include six rural local governments (Bradford, Union, Columbia, and Gilchrist Counties, Lake City and Starke) that are served by either small paid fire departments or by volunteer departments. The only public-sector Hazmat team is from the City of Gainesville, located in Alachua County.

A primary goal of the North Central Florida Regional Hazardous Materials Team is to increase community safety by reducing long response times in many rural areas. If a toxic chemical cloud is floating towards a rural school, an accurate incident size-up and quick, appropriate decision are needed to best handle a release.

This goal will be accomplished by having trained Hazmat technicians available to respond, with operations level personnel, as "Initial Response Teams" in the five counties and three municipalities that form the NCFRHMT. We believe that this is an affordable way of increasing Hazmat capabilities in rural areas where a stand-alone Hazmat team is too costly.

The training standards for a hazardous materials technician for the NCFRHMT follows Florida State Fire College courses or their equivalent: Hazmat I, II, III and either the Fire College Chemistry course or a college level course with a CHM prefix. Each of these Fire College Courses is a 40-hour course. Trained technicians are needed in each county to help ensure that the initial incident size-up and public safety decisions are accurately made.

A second goal is to have immediately available in each county a standard Initial Response Trailer. It would contain the equipment necessary for those first responders to take action prior to the arrival of a "Technical Team". The standardization is critical in allowing responders from multiple agencies to be familiar with the equipment carried by all members of the NCFRHMT.

Problem:

· The first problem is that these departments can not afford the time or cost involved in sending individuals away to receive the required training. While it is recognized that some departments can send individuals to training. The time involved in sending one person at a time would dramatically prolong the time until the NCFRHMT could respond as an effect team.

The District 3 LEPC has been very successful in providing Hazmat training to first responders. One main reason is because we hire part-time instructors and send them to the different counties to make it easier for local responders to attend. HMEP funds will all be used this coming year on awareness, operations and CAMEO classes. Funding is needed to expand this proven approach too more advanced (with more hands on) training.

· The second problem is that there is currently no funding source available to obtain and deploy the equipment necessary for the "Initial Response Teams" to respond safely to a hazardous materials incident or a terrorist incident involving hazardous materials. The cost for the trailer and equipment (Level "A" & "B" suits, absorbents, detectors, etc…) are beyond the budgets available to these responders.

Proposal:

The NCFRHMT proposes with this grant project the solutions to the above listed problems.

· Contract with an individual or individuals to provide standardized technician level hazardous materials training directly to the agencies that are participants in the NCFRHMT. This training will be delivered locally and on a schedule that encourages local participation.

· Purchase and deliver to the four rural Counties in our team identical equipped trailers that will be used by the "Initial Response Teams" in the event of a hazardous materials incident or a terrorist incident involving hazardous materials.

Expected Results:

After the completion of this proposed project, it is anticipated that public safety will be improved in the following ways:

· The level of Hazmat training will be increased in each county. An instructor will have taught technician level classes in each county on a schedule that allows local responders to attend. Since the classes are standardized, if a class is missed then it can be made-up in a nearby county.

· Local emergency management and response officials will be able to more quickly make critical public safety decisions regarding the threats posed by an accidental chemical release or a terrorist threat. This includes decisions made on sheltering in-place versus evacuation, defining hot zones, and evaluating the risk and benefits of doing emergency rescues.

· Local responders will be able to establish decontamination operations, allowing quicker entry after the arrival of the Technical Response Team. The use of a standardized response trailer will make it easier for trained responders from different counties to effectively work together under difficult conditions.

· A cost-effective approach to providing regional Hazmat response coverage in a rural area will have been demonstrated. This project will demonstrate that the District Hazmat Team project of the SERC is not only feasible, but also cost effective in the rural areas that currently lack a timely Hazmat coverage.

Linkage:

This project addresses the emergency management need outlined in the Notice of Fund Availability,

· Category 4) Other projects that will further state and local emergency management objectives as priorities in the applicable Notice of Fund Availability.

· Priority area B) Projects which implement the community's Local Hazard Mitigation Strategy.

· Priority area D) Projects that will improve the training and operations capabilities of agencies assigned lead or support responsibilities as identified on page 38, figure 11 of the Florida Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan.

Priority area B is addressed by this example from the Alachua County Local Mitigation Strategy program, Objective 1.1 "The Local Mitigation Strategy shall identify mechanisms to train, educate and inform County personnel, responders and elected officials to improve emergency preparedness and response." A copy of this will be included in the attachments.

This project would accomplish the objective outlined above by preparing first responders and other parties on the safe and proper manner in which to respond to a hazardous materials incident.

Priority area D is addressed by this project in that the NCFRHMT supports ESF 4, ESF 10 and Annex B - The State of Florida Terrorism Incident Response Plan.

ESF 4 addresses Statewide Fire Response. The Florida Fire Chief's Disaster Response Plan indicates "The Florida Fire Chief's Association created the Statewide Emergency Response Plan to provide for the systematic mobilization, deployment, organization, and management of Fire-Rescue resources throughout the State, and the Nation, in assisting local agencies in mitigation the effects of a disaster. The Local Fire-Rescue agency is the first tier of defense in responding to the ravages of a disaster." "The Statewide Emergency Response Plan lends itself to the rapid activation and response of aid to a community in the event of a localized disaster. These events include train derailments, hazardous materials incidents, wildland fires, domestic terrorism and other events that may overwhelm the department serving the community and its normal mutual aid resources."

The NCFRHMT has received a letter from the Florida Fire Chief's Association stating their support of our grant and the recognition that the NCFRHMT performs essential support functions for ESF 4 and this will be included in the appendix.

Appendix X: ESF 10 states that the "DEP BER works closely with municipal and county governments during an incident. Since local public safety organizations are generally the first government representatives at the scene of a discharge or release, they would be expected to initiate public safety measures necessary to protect public health and welfare. These responsibilities include directing evacuations, fire suppression and hazardous materials support where available, …and such responsibilities as described in the state Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan." The NCFRHMT is the only hazardous materials response team in our eleven county area and performs the initial response functions as outlined in the State CEMP.

The State of Florida does not have initial response capabilities. Local first responders typically perform this initial response. Our grant will provide those first responders with the training and equipment to rapidly and safety responds to a hazardous materials incident or a terrorist incident involving hazardous materials.

The NCFRHMT has received a letter of support from the State Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Response that indicates that the team provides support for ESF 10 in our eleven county area and this will be included in the appendix.

Annex B - State of Florida Terrorist Incident Response Plan describes the consequence management of terrorism response as:

"This response involves measures to alleviate the damage, loss, hardship or suffering caused by emergencies. It includes measures to protect public health and safety, restore essential government services, and provide emergency relief to affected governments, businesses and individuals. Consequence management response is implemented under the primary jurisdiction of the affected State and local government. The Federal Government provides assistance when required."

The goal of this grant project is to train and equip the NCFRHMT to respond to a hazardous materials incident or a terrorist incident involving hazardous materials in any of the 11 Counties in the District 3 LEPC or as requested.

Criteria Area 2. Identify and demonstrate long- and/or short-term tangible benefits of this proposal coupled with the availability of resources necessary to continue the project; and identify the number of emergency management personnel whose emergency management needs will be directly benefited by the project.

This project has both short term and long term tangible emergency management benefits. The most significant short-term benefit will be an increase in public safety resulting from increased training and response capabilities to support response to hazardous materials and terrorist incidents.

Short-term planning benefits include:

- Increase of public safety through quick response by trained responders who are able to quickly mitigate the effects of a release.

- Standardization of training and equipment in each county, allowing responders from multiple jurisdictions to effectively work together.

- Provide a sound basis for initial responses and technician – level response for specific chemical hazards in each county

- Reduced response time from out-of-town resources since local responders can establish defensive (Operations level) and limited offensive (Technician level) procedures.

- Shorten the time frame that would be other wise involved in training the numbers and types of responders (small paid and volunteer) needed to effectively respond to a hazardous materials or terrorist incident.

Long-term planning benefits include:

- Increase of public safety through quick response by trained responders who are able to quickly mitigate the effects of a release.

- Increased levels of response can be maintained by using cost recovery ordinances to replace equipment used during a response

- A model for other districts to use in establishing district Hazmat response teams in areas currently lacking existing capabilities.

- This project would support the expansion of additional regional standardized Hazmat training and equipment purchases.

Targeted population whose emergency management needs will be directly benefited.

The population that would be served by this grant consists of eleven counties covering an area of 6,813 square miles with Dixie and Taylor counties bordering the Gulf of Mexico. Inland counties include Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, and Union with a total population of around 434,000.

The emergency management organizations that would be served include all eleven county's Emergency Managers, Sheriff's Offices, and EMS departments plus 11 paid Fire -Rescue Departments and over 80 volunteer fire departments. Additional organizations benefiting would include hospitals, public works, local police departments and all those who have response responsibilities. This project has benefits to all State Agencies that play a role in the emergency response to a hazardous materials release or a terrorist incident.

The HMEP Training grant will conclude September 30, 2001. The Training and Response project would commence upon receipt of the Grant funding with the advertising for an instructor and the bidding out of the equipment and trailers. The estimated time for beginning course would be two months. Completion of the project will be within the 12-month grant cycle.

This project is being established as an ongoing program to be continued after the grant cycle. There is commitment by the NCFRHMT, as is demonstrated by the interlocal agreements and Gainesville Fire Rescue to continue the training and maintenance of the equipment after the grant period. A letter of commitment from both parties will be attached to the grant.

Criteria Area 3. Clearly describe the project’s consistency with the State Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and any applicable local plans.

This Training and Response project would be consistent with the State Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan in several areas.

In the CEMP Introduction under "Purpose" it state that the "CEMP establishes a framework for an effective system of comprehensive emergency management, the purpose of which is to:

2. Prepare for prompt and efficient response and recovery activities to protect lives and property affected by emergencies.

3. Respond to emergencies using all systems, plans and resources necessary to preserve the health, safety and welfare of persons affected by the emergency.

The North Central Florida Hazardous Materials Team provides our eleven County area with the fire rescue support to respond to and mitigate a hazardous materials or terrorist incident. By training and equipping the members of the NCFRHMT to perform the initial response, until a technical team arrives, we would be accomplishing the goals of a prompt and efficient response to a hazardous materials incident or a terrorist incident involving hazardous materials. By training department to work together within the NCFRHMT we accomplish the goal of using all systems, plans and resources necessary to preserve the health, safety and welfare of persons affected by the emergency.

The State Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan states under the section "Hazard Analysis", reference hazardous materials, that "virtually the entire state is at risk to an unpredictable incident of some type." And in regards to major transportation accidents, which may involve hazardous materials that "…it is also important to note that a major transportation accident could occur in a relatively rural area, severely stressing the capabilities of local resources to respond effectively." Again our Training and Response project is designed to enable area first responders to be better prepared for such an incident.

This grant project is consistent with the State Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan in the support of ESF 4, ESF 10 and Annex B - The State of Florida Terrorism Incident Response Plan.

Annex B - State of Florida Terrorist Incident Response Plan describes the consequence management of terrorism response as:

Our grant program is consistent with our 11 County Local Mitigation Strategy Programs. An example is from the Alachua County Local Mitigation Strategy program, Objective 1.1 "The Local Mitigation Strategy shall identify mechanisms to train, educate and inform County personnel, responders and elected officials to improve emergency preparedness and response." A copy of this will be included in the attachments.

The North Central Florida LEPC Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Plan details the responsibilities of county, municipal, volunteer and organizational fire departments to include:

· Respond to, investigate, and assume control of fire and explosion related hazards at the scene of hazardous materials incidents occurring within its jurisdiction.

· Determine the type and nature of hazardous materials involved in the incident and advise the On-Scene Coordinator as appropriate as to response actions, personnel, equipment and materials as required.

A copy of this will be included in the attachments.

This project would accomplish these objectives outlined above by preparing first responders and other parties on the safe and proper manner in which to respond to a hazardous materials incident or a terrorist incident involving hazardous materials.

Criteria Area 4. Describe why this particular method or approach to solving the problem was chosen over other available alternatives. Include a proposed budget for the project and describe how it is necessary and appropriate to the scope of the project.

There are few alternatives available that are affordable to the proposed approach of using local delivery of technical training combined with a tiered approach of Initial Response Teams and a Technical Response Team. According to the research conducted for the SERC, some states have established their own network of full-time Hazmat teams. This is too expensive for large rural areas that are mostly protected by volunteer fire departments. Existing resources should be supported, not supplanted by the State.

Many rural public safety agencies are unable to send their responders away for advanced training. When they can, it is often only one person. Bringing training to where it is needed has worked well for the district 3 LEPC and its HMEP-funded awareness and operations level classes. Once local responders are trained to the technician-level, an operations level train-the-trainer will increase the level of classes that can be offered locally. The LEPC strongly recommends that trainers are proficient at one additional level than they are teaching. Offering local advanced classes is the best approach.

The only alternative to having appropriate Hazmat training and equipment is to call for outside help and wait. Often the nearest Hazmat team, if available, is one to two hours away. A locally based, Initial Response Team can quickly make sound technical decisions on protective actions for the public, mitigate with defensive actions, establish incident command and a decontamination operation. The proposed project is the best approach to increasing public safety through decreasing response times to hazardous materials emergencies.

Budget:

· Salary and Benefits:

There is no Salary and Benefits included in this grant project.

· Other Personal/ Contractual Services

A contractual service for the provision of the technician training is including in the budget. It is anticipated that during this grant we would provide at a minimum one full 4-course technician program in each of the four rural counties. The cost to contract with an instructor for each course would be $1600.00 per course, which includes per diem and travel. The second deliverable is the development of a proficiency and competency based training package so that all members of the team can demonstrate the same level of training and knowledge and can be periodically reevaluated. The cost will be put out for RFP.

· Administrative Expenses

There are no Administrative Expenses included in this grant project.

· Expenses

A expenses for office supplies and copying is included as well as the cost to advertise for the Trainer position.

The cost for attending and presenting the results of this grant project at a minimum of two conferences is included. The ability for this project to be duplicated and the results shared is an important aspect of this grant.

· Operating Capital Outlay

Initial Response Equipment and Trailers are 4 trailers that will be designed and equipped in identical manners. These trailers will carry equipment to be used by the Initial Response Teams to respond to a hazardous materials incident prior to the arrival of a Technical Team. The Trailers will carry a range of equipment that will include Level "A" & "B" Chemical protective suits, 1 hour Air-packs and bottles, basic air monitoring equipment, absorbents, plugging and patching supplies, chlorine "A" kits, reference material and other supplies. This can be used by the Initial Response Team or supplement the equipment carried by the Technical Team.

The Training Equipment and Trailer will be supplied with the same basic equipment as the Initial Response trailers but will also include the equipment necessary to conduct Technician Level Hazmat Training in the field. The Trainer will use this trailer to train Initial Response Teams on the equipment they carry without putting their trailers out of service. This additional equipment was modeled on the equipment carried by the Florida State Fire College when they teach similar courses in the field. This equipment will include a wider range of detection equipment, training suits, Chlorine "B" kit, as well as classroom training equipment such as a computer, LCD projector and screen. After the grant this trailer and equipment will be available to all members of the NCFRHMT to conduct training.

· Fixed Capital Outlay

There is no Fixed Capital Outlay included in this grant project.

EXPENDITURE CATEGORIES	CASH MATCH	IN-KIND SERVICES MATCH	TOTAL GRANTEE COST	EMPA AWARD	TOTAL PROJECT COST
1. SALARY AND BENEFITS	0	0	0	0	0
2. OTHER PERSONAL/CONTRACURAL SERVICES A. Training services B. HMEP Training Grant	0	15,000	0	40,000	40,000 15,000
3. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES	0	0	0	0	0
4. EXPENSES A. Office supplies and copying B. Advertising for Trainer services C. Conference Presentations on Project	0	0	0	500 500 2,000	500 500 2,000
5. OPERATING CAPITAL OUTLAY A. Initial Response Equipment & Trailers 4@25,000 B. Training Equipment and Trailer	0	0	0	100,000 45,000	100,000 45,000
6. FIXED CAPITAL OUTLAY	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL EXPENDITURES	0	15,000	0	188,000	203,000
PERCENTAGES	0	7%	0	93%	100%

Criteria Area 5. Identify Applicant’s matching funds, either cash or in-kind and include supporting documentation;

The in-kind match for the grant consists of the HMEP Training grant money provided to the District 3 LEPC. These funds will be used to provide hazardous materials awareness and operations training to first responders in our district. These responders include fire-rescue, EMS, law enforcement, hospital personnel, and all others who may be called on to respond to a hazardous materials incident or a terrorist incident involving hazardous materials.

The HMEP Training grant will continue on even if funding is not made available through the EMPATF. The funding source for this is federal pass through dollars. A letter confirming this will be made available as an attachment to the grant.

Criteria Area 6. Provide evidence of the abilities and qualifications of those persons proposed to work on the project if funded

Project Manager:

Jeff Tucker Special Operations Chief Gainesville Fire Rescue.

Chief Tucker has been in the Fire-EMS service for over 18 years and holds a Bachelor Degree in Fire Service Administration from Western Illinois University. Chief Tucker is the Chief Officer in charge of the Gainesville Fire Rescue Hazardous Materials Team and is Vice-Chair of the Board of the NCFRHMT and Chair of the Technical Committee. Chief Tucker has managed over $300,000 in State and Federal Grants. Chief Tucker is a Hazardous Materials Instructor and has been a speaker on the subject at several conferences. He is currently working on the committee that is updating the IFSTA Hazardous Materials for First Responders Manual. A complete resume will be attached in the appendix.