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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday December 20, 2006 - 13 Local plants welcome firefighter training Continued from page 12 where they take a view of everything that's going on and devise their plan." Hazardous materials could include anything from explosives, radio-active products, gasses and poisons, to name just a few. Gaade, a 40-year veteran of handling these hazardous materials, or as he calls it, "the nasty stuff," says you can never know enough. "You have to keep learning because things change all the time, the hazards change," he said. "There are always new scenarios you can be faced with, and there's also new equipment." The chemical-resistant suits -- enormous blue suits that look like tarps, but are obviously a lot more sturdy -- can cost up to $2,000 each, and are one-time use only. After they're contaminated, that's it. The suits include an air-pack so that firefighters aren't breathing the outside air. Those air packs usually last for about an hour, "depending on how hard they're working," said Gaade. "After they come out they need to go through a decontamination process, so they also need enough air to get through that," he added. Sporting those giant suits, measuring liquids, relaying information to a command post equipped with laptops and phones to obtain more information if needed ­ these are just some of the things firefighters were going through in the simulated exercises. In addition to these on-scene scenarios, the training course includes classroom work. "We'll do an hour or two in the classroom, and then we'll come out to the site," said Gaade, adding there are different scenarios across the training sessions to keep them unique for each group. The Oakville sessions were initiated by Oakville Fire Chief Richard Boyce to keep his staff up to date. Both Oakville Fire Stations 1 and 7 are equipped with Hazardous Materials Technicians ­ firefighters with additional qualifications ­ so those stations would answer any calls about hazardous materials. JemPak, which makes liquid home cleaners, has never had a big problem like the one set up Friday, according to its Safety, Health and Environmental Manager Ted Taylor. "No, nothing like this has ever happened here. The Fire Department approached us to use the plant and we had no problems with that," he said. "It's a partnership and we're happy to help out." JemPak is one of a number of local companies that have agreed to lend their facilities to the fire department to facilitate this training, Gaade said, a list that includes Kinoak Arena, Halton's water purification plant, Praxair and Trimac Transportation. "The companies have been extremely helpful in accommodating us," he said, adding the benefits are two-fold. "The firefighters get their training and this also benefits the companies in terms of LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER safety." HANDLING THE GOODS: As part of their hazardous materials training, Oakville firefighters -- Krissie Rutherford can be reached at Lloyd Hyde and Ron Darichuk had to don special suits while carrying out duties at JemPak recently. krutherford@oakvillebeaver.com. HURR OFFERS Y EN SOON D New Years Beginning at 7pm $ $35.00 per a person n Pre fixed menu fixed 4 course D course Dinner cou se Champaign Midnight Champaign Midnight Cham g Champaig at Midnight hampaign mpaign gn igh g P y Fa o Party Favou Favours a av Dinner and Dancing with f fo e guitari f former guitarist from H er itarist ita i Honeymoon suite suite. i ite. Celebrate with us! BON CTORY $100 FAATE* REB DELS O CTED M ON SELE US Save up to $244 Stay warm this winter with a Regency Fireplace that gives your home the warmth and style you are looking for! Purchase your Regency wood or gas fireplace, stove or insert until December 22nd, 2006 to receive a FREE accessory. See in store for promotion details. www.regency-fire.com SCAVENGER SCAVENGER SCAVENGER SCAVENGE AVENGER AVENGE ENGE ENG NGER Call for ese Cal fo res Call f reservations! s ! 301 Hays Boulevard, Oakville Showroom Hours: Mon-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm Saturdays 11:00am-4:00pm APPLEBY SHOWROOM AT 2086 SPEERS RD OAKVILLE SHOWROOM # 905-825-1929 SYSTEMS FIREPLACE, HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING CONTRACTORS 905-257-5313 kelseysoakville@radiant.net OAKVILLE 905-825-1893 BURLINGTON 905-335-3203 www.applebysystems.on.ca