A full-scale mock disaster exercise was conducted by firefighters, police offices, and Emergency Operation Center officials on Friday, Oct. 1 in Jackson Center, OH. The Decon Zone included DQE’s decontamination pool and the Indestructo decontamination shower system for decontaminating a HazMat responder after stopping a leak in a tanker truck.

A member of the Kosovo Security Force HAZMAT Company conducts decontamination procedures during a training scenario at the Joint Multinational Training Center in Hohenfels, Germany, on Nov. 2, 2020. The KSF is attending a JMRC rotation to build relationships and interoperability with the incoming international units deploying as part of Kosovo Force 28, a NATO organization dedicated to the safety and security of all people in Kosovo. The HAZMAT unit is trained to quickly set up remote decontamination and testing stations in response to reports of hazardous material.

A new virtual toolkit from NIOSH is intended to help protect first responders from exposure to illicit drugs. Illicit drugs include fentanyl, opioids, cocaine, cannabinoids, methamphetamines, heroin, cathinone, etc. This free resource features sharable training videos, infographics, and postcards.

The Shaken Fury Exercise focused on a simulated major earthquake in Memphis, Tennessee that will impact middle America including the state of Alabama. The exercise was designed to test communications, situational awareness systems and networks; simulate coordinated responses during structural damage and life-threatening mass casualty incidents; and coordinate responses to a HAZMAT incident caused by the earthquake.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has published resources on fourth generation agents. These resources include: Safety Awareness for First On-Scene Responders Bulletin, Reference Guide for HazMat Response Teams, and Medical Management Guidelines.

What began Wednesday as a 911 call for an ill person at a West Toledo home turned into an extensive decontamination effort and the hospitalization of several police officers exposed to a suspected dangerous drug, including one officer who gave herself the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone.

At least 16 people, including seven Toledo police officers, were hospitalized late Tuesday after being exposed to a dangerous drug during a bust.