The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THE WEEKEND OUTLOOK Friday April Page 11 Firefighters receive special equipment By LISA BOONSTOPFELPOT The Herald Hills firefighters may look like aliens with the new hazardous material response equipment the department recently purchased but it allows them to protect themselves and the community from hazardous materials The department has just created a Hazardous Materials Response team to deal with the potential threats of hazardous material spills Under the leader ship of coordinator Bill Barber the 17member team has begun specialized training to prepare to respond to hazardous material in cidents Weve been and more calls for firefighters to deal with hazardous materials said Bob Mead training officer at the Hills fire department Because of the number of calls our guys wanted to learn how to deal with hazardous materials Those involved included firefighters Ace Bailey Ed Doug Andrews Doug Hewitt Dave Ford John Wilson Bruno Martina John Martin John Wade Doug Ferguson Stuart Hall Walter MacPherson Don Maveal Rob Quinton Steve War ing and Bob White That was last year and the department decided to reserve approximately in their budget for hazardous material equipment With the money the department purchased chemical and vapor proof suits an Aim 3000 wand to detect hazardous vapour in the air an absorbent boom to soak up hazardous spills and other necessary equipment storage barrels shovels man hole cover to help contain a spill and prevent the situation from getting worse Mr Mead said the department has acquired equipment enabling firefighters to deal with small spills and accidents As training levels and equipment resources improve we hope to be able to contain and control large in cidents he said For instance the department body suits are less quality splash suits rather than com pletely chemical resistant suits on the market But top quality suits giving firefighters total protection from chemical spills and vapors cost nearly However the departments own suits do protect the men from burning acids some hazar dous vapours and skin burns The regulation suits used to battle fires arent effective in covering the entire skin surface and In the past firefighters had suffered chemical bums when dealing with an ammonia leak at a local arena As the need increases Mr Mead said the department will eventually need the extra suits and a trailer as a means to transport the hazardous spill response equipment Our pre sent system of having to load the equipment before we can transport it to a scene isnt prac tical he said Along with the equipment the team has been studying stan dards set by the International Firefighters Association to deal with hazardous spills From May the team will take an intense Fire Marshalls course for hazardous material respondents which involves much handson training said Mr Mead Theyll be learning how to deal Displaying some of he spill response equipment the Hills Fire Department has on hand is left to right Bob While Walter and John Egerton The new equipment aids the newly- formed Hazardous Spill team in containing dangerous spills Herald photo with situations varying from a household chemical reaction to a leaking tanker containing hazar dous waste Mr Mead said household and business chemicals and how they should be handled is an important part of the training Personally Mr Mead thinks the establishment of a hazardous materials response team is a godsend for the fire depart ment He revealed that prior to training there was far too great a potential that firefighters could get involved in something beyond their scope We could have lost people due to lack of training and equip ment he admitted Firefighters say Hills is particularly vulnerable to potetial hazardous material in cidents occurring because if its proximity to a major rail route major highway routes and th airport Legal clinic looks to increase public awareness of services By LISA BOONSTOPPELPOT The Herald Lawyers at the Hills Community Legal Clinic on Mill Street in Georgetown took a break from their legal practice Tuesday afternoon to meet local volunteers and service leaders and increase awareness of the centre during an informal open house from pm The smell of old law books mingled with the fresh aroma of coffee and baked goods as the clinics staff introduced themselves to visitors and heightened the profile of the cen tres purpose The staff executive director and lawyer Jeff Steinberg lawyer Marilyn King and com munity legal worker Carolyn Thompson are alt newcomers to the clinic having all entered their respective positions in Mr Steinberg could be con sidered the veteran of the three since hes been with the clinic since Feb Prior to his pre sent position he was a counsellor with the Childrens Aid Society Ms King was the next lawyer to join the clinic in August of last year Her background includes serving as assistant crown at torney in Peel Region A couple of weeks later Ms Thompson joined the team and left her job as a court officer with the Peel Police Bureau to become a community legal worker Together they ensure access to the legal system for people who have traditionally been denied justice It isnt a traditional focus for law practice said Mr Steinberg who admitted that un til 1966 when legal aid was developed the legal system didnt meet the needs of the povertystricken The private sector doesnt generally in this area because its not lucrative said Janet Menard Chairperson of the of Directors that manages the clinic Board members are elected and are responsible for personnel budgeting planning services and evaluating clinic programs Because the clinic deals with lower income clients much of the staffs workload involves evic tions and welfare applications Now due to the dire economic consequences that face people when they lose their jobs were quite busy taking steps to make sure people have a roof over their head said Mr Steinburg Ms Menard said low income clients are often in a catch situation during hard times because if they had money they wouldnt be facing eviction but since they dont have funds they cant hire a lawyer to represent their legal rights But at the clime eligible clients often get free representation We run our clients through a financial eligibility criteria screen to determine how much each client can pay explained Mr Steinberg People calling just for advice however will find that some things In life are free Mr Steinberg said that educa tion is a too the clinic uses to educate its clients Information is a sort of power and can go a long way to reducing a difficult situation with the law Hes eager to provide community education in such ways as organizing tenants associations He said one of the goals for the clinic is to become more pro- instead of reactive The clinic is located at 72 Mill Street in Georgetown and helps with tenants rights rent review unemployment insurance workers compensation welfare family benefits human rights disputes and Canada pension plan disability matters For more information call the clinic at Staff at the Hills Community legal Clinic discussed the clinks objectives with Mayor Miller second left during the clinics open house Tuesday afternoon Talking with the Mayor were left to right the clinics executive director and lawyer Jeff Steinberg chairperson of the clinics board of directors Janet Menard staff lawyer Marilyn King and the clinics community legal worker Carolyn Thompson Herald photo Cancer can be beaten Please April campaign