Muskingum County E.M.A. Hazmat Team

Ever wondered who handles chemical spills?

The Muskingum County Emergency Management Agency has a hazmat team in place that is prepared to assist on any emergencies.

"With the number of state routes that we’ve got through Muskingum County and industry, you’ve got to be prepared, it’s required by the law and we try to stay on top of things to eliminate any hazards that we have," said Deputy Director Jeff Jadwin.

The custom designed trailer houses everything needed to contain a chemical spill, it even has it’s own generator. All of the equipment must meet state requirements.

"We don’t do clean up, we are there to stop the spill, contain it, keep it from moving farther and then the clean up company comes in and does removal of the product," said Jadwin.

The hazmat team consists of 60 members from various fire departments, who are all certified to handle hazardous situations.

"We’ve got different levels of training we’ve got operations which are the people kind of the support people, and then the technicians are the people go in where the bad stuff is," he said.

Jadwin says treating a hazardous situation is costly.

"The state of Ohio, the revised code allows us to charge for the man power, the equipment, the vehicles that are involved in the incident," he said.

The hazmat plan is updated annually through the Ohio E.M.A.