Eastern Salisbury and Western Salisbury Fire Department volunteers hold a joint training exercise at the Eastern Salisbury fire station, Emmaus Avenue, and Honeysuckle Road, each spring to be recertified in hazardous materials operations.

The recertification course, conducted by the Bucks County Community College, which has an extensive curriculum in firefighter training operations, was led by Instructor Fred Scheirer, a 20-year veteran of the Allentown Fire Department and retired Allentown fire marshal.

Each year, the instruction highlights new hazards firefighters face in their volunteer capacity and provides the training necessary for the delicate operations of hazardous material response.

While Lehigh County's Special Operations unit provides extensive response facilities for hazmat operations, it is almost always police and firefighters who are the first responders. The recertification classes help the firefighters recognize the personal hazards involved in those first response activities.

Last year, the relative new hazards presented by mobile meth labs, where methamphetamines are "cooked" in roving vehicles to avoid detection in urban or rural neighborhood fixed operations, were highlighted. This year, the newest hazard is presented by individuals who commit chemical suicide. The hazard stems from individuals who mix lethal combinations of chemicals in the confines of a parked vehicle. Combining common household or do-it-yourself cleaning chemicals can result in the formation of lethal gases which can cause death in as little as half a minute.

The danger lies in firefighters or police responding to reports of drivers slumped in a vehicle. With the best of intentions, firefighters might assume a medical emergency and attempt rescue efforts. Without proper precautions, firefighters could gain access to the vehicle and find themselves victims of the lethal gases built up inside.

Incredulous, one firefighter posed the question, "What, do I live under a rock? I've never heard of such a thing."

Scheirer explained the phenomenon of chemical suicide is relatively new.

"As far as we can determine," Scheirer said, "it started in Japan a few years ago and has spread to this country through Internet reports. There have been about 50,000 reports of chemical suicides in Japan and here in the U.S. since 2006." Scheirer said Northampton and Montgomery Counties have each experienced one case, and two have been investigated in Philadelphia County.

While some of the victims have reportedly posted signs in vehicle windows warning firefighters and police, that is not always the case, and Scheirer cautioned the Salisbury volunteers to investigate suspicious circumstances in full protective gear with self-contained-breathing equipment. He emphasized the suspicious circumstances to look for, told the firefighters to look for signs of chemical mixing in containers in the vehicle and to put their own safety at the forefront of all hazmat rescue activities.

"You're not going to be able to help anybody if you become a victim yourself," Scheirer cautioned.

As part of the recertification, Scheirer conducted a tabletop exercise asking firefighters how they would respond to a simulated mass casualty incident involving a chemical weapons of mass destruction incident. Scheirer used a training video produced by the Seattle Fire Department to help the responders understand how to recognize symptoms of chemical exposure, how to set up emergency decontamination facilities, maintain personal safety measures and call for a mass hazmat response from county, state and federal agencies.

After the exercise, one volunteer expressed amazement at complexities faced by today's first responders.

"It's gotten so complex since the events of 9/11. What we faced a few decades ago was as simple as determining the hazard placards involved with transport vehicles involved in roadway accidents. Today it's just so much more that we need to be aware of for the safety of the public."