Hazardous Materials Response

In 1983, the various fire departments in Lake County were confronted with new regulations regarding response and handling of hazardous material incidents. The training and equipment required to handle these incidents was found to be unaffordable for each department to fund individually and provide the numbers of trained personnel needed.

The Lake County Fire Chief's Association assembled a new "specialized response team" comprised of manpower and funds from all of the Lake County Fire Departments. This team is the Lake County Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Response Team.

The Zion Fire Department has been a part of this team since it's inception. Although various department members have training in Hazardous Materials, three personnel are assigned to the County Team. With funding from the various departments and generous donations of equipment and money from private industry, a team of approximately 110 technicians is now in place. This team operates two vehicles equipped with state of the art monitoring equipment, computers, Level A and B suits, communication equipment, reference materials, decontamination equipment, tools and supplies for spill and leak control and many other items necessary for management of a hazardous materials incident.

This team is also under contract to provide service to McHenry County.