Learning makes people wise ignorance otherwise.

On January 7,1983 I was faced with the realization of how little I knew about chemical emergencies. It became a reality all too quickly and was a hard lesson to learn. I was called at my home around 4 a.m. to respond to the downtown area of my city for a fire that involved chemicals. It was reported that several firefighters had been injured. En route I was in radio contact with several officers on the scene and was informed that there had been an explosion and that four firefighters had been burned.

Once on the scene, I learned that a firefighter who had driven a car in my wedding party was being seat to a burn center in New York City. Now, not only was I dealing with a difficult incident, but it also now had an emotional aspect tied to it. Even with my limited knowledge, I was given the job of informing and advising the incident commander of the potential hazards involved with several of the chemicals they were able to identify. The fire was caused by an overpressurization of a reactor vessel. Because of the explosion no product control was initiated, and to compound the problem, the property was adjacent to Long Island Sound. This incident was causing environmental damage to the land, water, and air, not to mention the four firefighters that had already been injured. My cadre of tools included two reference books and 16 hours of hazardous materials training. After several difficult hours trying to identify, evaluate, and provide useful information to both the incident commander and the hospital, I came to the conscious decision that I simply did not have the right tools nor the required knowledge to be very helpful.

This one incident changed the way I would respond to chemical emergencies for the rest of my life. This incident taught me the importance of good identification skills, how important it is to understand every term as it relates to the hazards of the product, and the absolute need for air monitoring devices. To keep our troops safe, being armed with knowledge is the only way to face this type, or any type, of emergency again.

Street Story by Frank Docimo, Special Operations Officer, Turn of River Fire Department, Turn of River, Connecticut

1. realization – осознание, понимание

2. chemical emergencies – аварийные ситуации, связанные с химическими веществами

3. down-town area – центр города

4. deal with – иметь дело с

5. burn center – ожоговый центр

6. aspect – взгляд, выражение, аспект, сторона

7.tie — связывать, соединять

8. potential hazard – вероятная опасность, риск

9. involve – включать в себя, вовлекать

10. identify – опознать, выяснить

11. overpressurization – чрезмерное(избыточное) давление

12. initiate – начать, проявить инициативу

13. compound the problem – усложнить проблему

14. adjacent (to) – ближайший, соседний

15. cadre of tools – (здесь) набор инструментов, оборудования

16. reference book - справочник

17. conscious decision – здравое решение, умозаключение

18. relate to — иметь отношение к

19. product - (xим.) продукт реакции

20. air monitoring devices – приборы контроля воздушной среды

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