Fuel spills, pesticides, chlorine leaks, suspicious devices. All of these are considered hazardous materials or situations, but there isn't currently a team in Oscoeola County to handle the calls.
That's about to change, though.
- After 5-6 years, Osceola County bringing back its hazmat team
- County approved the hazmat team in its 2017 fiscal year budget
- About 55 firefighters will be trained to hazmat technician level
"More than 60 miles of Turnpike in the county that we respond to ... high-speed road incidents, any one which can involve hazardous materials," said Robert Sorenson, chief of Osceola County Fire Rescue.
The county's hazmat team disbanded about five or six years ago, but it's now making a comeback. A hazmat unit was approved in the county's budget for fiscal year 2017.
The county is funding $200,000 for equipment and another $150,000 to $200,000 for training.
"We're going to train approximately 55 firefighters to the hazmat technician level," Sorenson said. "It's a 160-hour class."
Last month, there were more than 20 hazmat-related incidents in Osceola County. In June, a mother and her baby were killed by an unknown substance while driving on Florida's Turnpike near mile marker 224.
Osceola County doesn't have its own team, so a unit out of the area had to respond to the call, making the response time longer than if the county had a working unit.
"Time is everything," Sorenson said. "Time is of the essence, and the quicker we can get the resources on the scene, the quicker we can mitigate the incident and stop further damage to the environment."
Sorenson said he wants to make sure that the concern for peoples' safety grows as Osceola County grows.
The Osceola County Commission also approved $21 million in the 2017 fiscal year budget to replace five fire stations.