Two Alphas, Dennis Harris and Mike Waite, attended a week long 40 hours Hazardous Material Training Class at the Harrisburg Area Community College.

This class teaches the first responder how to safely mitigate a hazardous material incident. Students are also prepared for the PA State and National Pro Board HatMat Technician Certification. 

Such skills are needed in the community to protect from a multitude of various events.  In the recent past the Alphas have been called to chlorine leaks, large fuel oil spills, and natural gas leaks.

Other skills that are learned included the proper method of setting up and providing decon, which is the cleaning of contained tools, equipment, and personnel.  Students were also instructed in the use of many monitoring and detection devices to aid in the identification and concentration of the materials

All these skill when combined will allow for better support when utilized with our county's own HatMat team operated by Penn State University. The HatMat team relies on other agency (mostly fire departments) to provide them critical information about the incident prior to their arrival.  The HazMat team also relies on the fire department for support of all their operations such as decon, monitoring, and of course fire suppression. 

Congratulations Mike and D.H.