Hazardous Materials Team Information

MABAS Division 24 sponsors the 3rd District Hazardous Materials Response Team. Chief Kevin Welsh, of the Glenwood Fire Department, is the coordinator for the team. All 28 departments of the district donate money and manpower to support the team, and all team members are from 3rd District Fire Departments.

Haz-Mat Headquarters at Holbrook Station

They are the responsible party in the south suburbs for responding to hazardous materials incidents and acts of terrorism, when called upon by a department of the district. The purpose of the Third District Hazardous Materials Response Team, MABAS 24, is to provide a specialized team of personnel with specialized hazardous materials training and equipment. The team is capable of responding to hazardous materials incidents in order to contain and/or control the incident and to prevent further damage to life and property. The Team operates with some limitations. This Team is not considered a Team of experts, but a Team of technicians who provide assistance, resources, mitigation and specialized knowledge. The Team is not a "clean-up company". The Team is made up of a maximum of fifty qualified members of individual Third District Departments, signatory to the Hazardous Materials Response Agreement. The number of members is determined by the Hazardous Materials Advisory Committee with the approval of the Third District Fire Chief's Association. Each member has been trained to meet the standards as set by the Hazardous Materials Advisory Committee in accordance with all federal, state and local requirements. The team has been designated a level A team which is the highest rating in the MABAS system. Because of this the team has been a recipient of the equipment provided by the federal government under the Illinois Terrorism Task Force. The team is ready to respond 24-hours per day and are dispatched on the command of the affected community. The Incident Commander of community in need of help merely calls for a Hazardous Materials Box. This alerts the advisory team andSquad 307they respond to the incident. If mitigation is needed then a second alarm is called and this brings the entire team along with the Hazmat Vehicles, Squads 9901, 9902, the Calumet City and South Holland Hazmat Squads.

 

Truck 9902Squad 9902, a 2001 box truck, is equipped with a command center, personnel protective equipment, radios, communication equipment, detection meters, identification tools and various other supplies to allow us to enter hazardous atmospheres in a relatively safe manner.

 

Squad 9901 is a fire engine that was donated to the team by the Hazel Crest Fire Department and has been modified for hazardous materials use. It carries equipment to reduce or completely stop the problem. It is the mitigation vehicle carrying booms, sorbents, oil dry, neutralizers, foam, containment vessels, and plugging and diking equipment. MABAS 24 received a new mass decon unit from Cook County and the ITTF.

Truck 9901 MABAS24 Decon UnitThe number of the new unit is 9903 and is stationed at Tinley Station 4 at 7800 W 191 St. The team members put many additional hours, above and beyond their normal fire response duties, into training and responding to hazardous materials incidents. The cooperation of the various member departments allows the district to protect its citizens at highest level at the most reasonable costs.

Attachment	Size
Haz-Mat Team MABAS 24 By-Laws Section 2 (PDF)	196.87 KB
Haz-Mat Team MABAS24 By-Laws (PDF)	34.75 KB
MABAS24 Haz-Mat Field Sector Sheets (PDF)	34.03 KB
haz-mat-response-team-app.pdf	14.63 KB