By Julia Zaher
Flint Journal (Michigan)
Copyright 2007 Flint Journal
All Rights Reserved

GRAND BLANC TWP., Mich. — The newest weapon in the war on terror - or any other extreme emergency - has arrived in Genesee County.

It's a 58-foot long emergency truck and trailer which will be used by the county's Hazardous Materials Team) and the Urban Search and Rescue Team.

The rig was purchased at a cost of $425,000 with a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It is housed at Grand Blanc Fire Station No. 3 on Baldwin Road, giving rescue workers quick access to I-75.

Dennis Smith, director of the Genesee County Hazardous Materials Team, said he doesn't know of any adjacent county with a vehicle of this caliber.

"This vehicle is designed for an extreme incident," Smith said. "It is also practical enough that it can assist in a tornado, a building collapse, those kinds of things that occur more frequently than people realize."

The Urban Search and Rescue Team is made up of emergency personnel who are specially trained to locate, rescue and medically stabilize victims trapped in any situation, be it a building collapse or transportation accidents. Similar teams rushed to the site of the Twin Towers in New York City after terrorist attacks in 2001. Genesee County has one of just seven such teams in the state, according to Smith.

The county's Hazardous Materials Team is trained to respond to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive emergencies. The firefighters, police and paramedics who make up the teams train primarily on their own time.

The truck arrived Dec. 1, 2006. Additional equipment also purchased with a grant from the Department of Homeland Security was then installed. The vehicle went into service April 2. Members of the HAZMAT and USAR teams have been undergoing drivers' training and learning how to use the vehicle's many capabilities.

"It's a top-drawer rig," Grand Blanc Township Fire Chief James Harmes said. "It will last us a long time." Harmes said it also will allow the emergency response teams to grow and advance their skills.

The vehicle has features that make it especially adaptive. The truck can be removed from the trailer, allowing work in an emergency situation to continue while the truck leaves for refueling. It has a compressor to fill air tanks, its own generator, plenty of night lighting and power cables that allow HAZMAT and USAR teams greater independence and versatility.

"If we have a major event like in New York City, this truck will be on its way quickly," Harmes said.

The purchase of the multi-purpose vehicle was a cooperative effort by officials at local, state and federal levels.

"We all worked together on the project and got it with no cost overruns. The truck came in at the exact penny of the grant money," Smith said.

The truck and trailer is actually owned by Genesee County and deeded to the Genesee County Association of Fire Chiefs. 
 
A new hazmat fire truck purchased with Homeland Security money is in southern Genesee County ready for major emergencies at Grand Blanc Fire Station No. 3.