Newark FD HAZMAT not prepared

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www.cbsnewyork.com

Can Newark Firefighters Deal With A Chemical Attack?

New Reports Finds Problems With HAZMAT Unit

May 17, 2005 6:58 pm US/Eastern

NEWARK (CBS) A CBS 2 exclusive: Newark has several prime terror targets but a new report shows the fire department may not be prepared to handle a serious problem.

Concrete barriers still remain around the Prudential Building in Newark, which is a building federal authorities last year identified as a potential terrorist target. While Prudential has been vigilant with its security, CBS 2 News has learned the attorney general's office has reviewed the Fire Department's HAZMAT team and found the city may not be equipped to deal with a potential chemical attack.

In the review, exclusively obtained by CBS 2 News, State Police write," the Newark Fire Department HAZMAT Unit is equipped to provide only the most basic capability for hazmat response."

"Our department does not meet the criteria it should meet for a class one city," says John Sandella, President Newark Fire Officers Union.

The review also sites:

-outdated reference material from 1978

-HAZMAT gas detectors not in service due to lack of training

-a missing radiation monitor.

"We can no longer protect the people of this city to the extent where it's going to create a problem for us and cause us serious injury or death,” says Sandella.

A state police spokesperson says the review is not meant to be negative. What they're trying to do is help improve HAZMAT team response capabilities.

In the review, state police inspectors say they couldn't even determine if any of the city's HAZMAT unit members were even certified.

And that, "fire department members report that labor union policies prevent them from performing sampling and field testing of unknown chemical products."

To this the union says:

"That's absurd, if we don't have the equipment and we don't have the protection or training, we can't provide this service," says Sandella.

State police officials tell CBS 2 that every city in the state that receives homeland security money has to undergo this review. They say that Newark has received over $120,000 dollars and has spent all of it.