By Joanie Baker
Messenger-Inquirer
Copyright 2007 Messenger-Inquirer
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
OWENSBORO, Ky. — After piggybacking 20-pound air packs through a dimly lit hallway, Owensboro firefighters and detectives took turns responding to a coffee table turned chemistry set.
During the first hands-on methamphetamine lab response training conducted with both departments, nearly 25 officials worked together to determine that the beaker full of cherry Kool-Aid was actually a phosphorus lab, and the man lying on the floor pretending not to breathe was a victim needing medical attention.
Detective Chris Watkins and Kentucky State Police Trooper Louis Weber conducted the clandestine simulation training Tuesday at the Walter Freeman Fire Department Training Area to enhance the departments’ coordinated efforts to respond to meth labs.
“We can’t do a meth lab without the fire department there,” Watkins said. "... This prepares our two departments to work together and know who is responsible for what task when an emergency arises.”
In January, the departments attended classroom training on how to respond to meth labs with an emphasis on phosphorus laboratories. The day after the training was completed, a phosphorus lab was discovered at an Owensboro residence where a couple was cooking meth in their bedroom, fully exposed to children.
For almost four hours, nearly 30 officials responded to take apart the tubes containing gaseous vapors while decontaminating the residents in a “pop-up” shower tent in the yard.
Battalion Chief David McCrady said the response went very smoothly, but with the added practice of the training, he expects the next situation to go even better.
“This training helps us to develop a certain level of trust in each other’s abilities,” McCrady said. “Working together helps develop a sense of trust and makes it easier for people to be placed in appropriate positions to respond.”
McCrady said there have been several fires that the department has responded to that were later determined to have been ignited by a meth lab. He said during the course of a fire, the ceiling once fell and covered the lab components. When the fire was extinguished, firefighters found the remnants that could have still posed a threat to their safety.
Watkins and McCrady agreed that as the communication has enhanced between the departments, the two have been able to become more efficient.
The departments’ responsibilities are usually as different as their equipment -- the thermal, heavy bunker gear of the firefighters verses the lightweight but insulating plastic of detectives’ Tychem suits. But there are times the jobs overlap.
“Two people may be doing the same thing. We may have someone taking some samples of materials that they need too,” McCrady said.
In addition to sharing training in medical response and neutralizing agents, the departments also share equipment.
Weber said the training teaches personnel to use the resources while learning much more than in a classroom setting.
“It’s not just a law enforcement problem or a fire department problem. It’s a community problem,” Weber said. “Everyone has to work together, and the only way to do that is to train together.”