Chattanooga Fire Department hazmat unit members transport Jason Campbell while working a mock scene where a simulated hazardous substance incapacitated three people on the southern side of the Tennessee-American Water early Thursday morning. The drill included participation from Hamilton County emergency service departments, Tennessee-American Water, Erlanger hospital, Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences and EPA representatives from Atlanta.ALERT SYSTEMThe Chattanooga Fire Department recommends residents enter their phone number into the Alert Hamilton County system to receive alerts in the event of a real emergency. Fire department spokesman Bruce Garner said the system will be used sparingly, and phone numbers will be kept confidential and will not be turned over to any marketing firms. To enter a number in the system, visit http://www.hamiltontn.gov/AlertHamiltonCounty/Default.aspx.
As two Chattanooga firefighters clad in bulky hazmat suits steer four-wheelers, they keep a careful distance from a canister spewing plumes of smoky gas.
Through binoculars, they check the conditions of three fallen workers near the tank and try to pinpoint the source of the leak before they send in more hazmat technicians.
From behind the Tennessee American Water facility on Riverside Drive, voices on a fire department scanner trade details and instructions about a “major hazardous chemical leak” at the water plant, but each sentence caps off with: “This is a test. This is just a test.”
Just a test — but much more than a typical disaster drill, according to Chattanooga Fire Department spokesman Bruce Garner. More than 200 people were involved in planning and carrying out the mock chemical disaster scenario Thursday.