Montgomery County (PA) Department of Public Safety was in need of a new hazardous materials unit and wanted a rig that could carry all of its hazmat equipment and also have a working space inside that could function as a command area. The department inventoried its existing equipment and determined how they wanted to use the new truck, then went to Emergency Vehicles Inc. (EVI) to build the rig.
“Having a working space for a command area and research functions was a big consideration for us,” says Brandon Pursell, Montgomery County’s hazmat chief, “and that added about four feet to the length of the new truck over our prior hazmat unit. But we kept the new one on a single rear axle, and kept the overall height at a maximum of 11 feet.”
Jake Frye, assistant director of emergency management special operations, notes that Montgomery County covers 500 square miles with a population of 850,000 in 62 municipalities. “It’s mostly volunteer fire departments in the county, although there are some paid departments in the region,” Frye points out. “The hazmat truck is staffed by four full-time hazmat technicians and some part-time members out of our department. For a Level 3 hazmat call, an officer responds; for a Level 2, the full team is called out; and for a Level 1 incident, the full team, a field communications unit, and a drone for aerial imagery respond.”
Michael Cox, vice president of sales at EVI, says the new rig is built on a Spartan Metro Star chassis and three-door cab, with a 24-inch raised roof and a 20-foot custom body with a command area built into the rear of the crew area, that includes two work stations, seating, and numerous storage compartments. The rig is powered by a 450-horsepower (hp) Cummins L9 engine, and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission.
Tony Sirna, district manager for Campbell Supply Company, who sold the hazmat truck to Montgomery County, says the rig has ROM roll-up doors on all compartments, all slide-out and drop-down trays, five coffin compartments reached through a Zico roof access ladder, a SetCom headset system, a 25-kW Onan power takeoff (PTO) generator, multiple 110-volt electrical outlets, two electric cord reels, two recessed electric awnings (one each side), a 50-amp shore line, and a Columbia Systems weather station at the rear.
Tony Van Dyke, Montgomery County battalion chief, says the hazmat truck is filled with equipment, including gear for investigation, decon, and a propane flare for mitigation which attaches to a leaking tank to allow it to burn off safely and in a controlled manner. Other equipment, Van Dyke notes, includes Level A and Level B hazmat suits, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), a wide selection of hand tools, and wrenches.
Peter Bistline, battalion chief for Montgomery County, adds that the equipment list also includes drum moving equipment, kits for handling different types of tanks, Milwaukee pack out kits that are customized for specific tasks, such as detection and identification of a hazardous chemical or compound, a high pressure mass spectrometer for narcotics and explosives detection, Drager gas detection equipment, a FLIR nanoRaider, and a hazmat chemistry set to identify reactions.
Cox adds that the new hazmat truck has Whelen M series LED emergency lighting, HiViz FireTech LED scene lighting, LED underbody and compartment lighting, and a Whelen LED traffic advisor.
Pursell notes that the new hazmat truck has already earned its keep, responding to a number of calls including an 8,000-gallon fuel tanker overturned and spilled on a highway, and a lithium-ion battery fire in a residence’s attached garage.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
