MOUNT VERNON — The Knox County hazmat truck and trailer will be staying in Mount Vernon after all.
After exploring options for selling the truck and trailer, which were purchased by the county with over $100,000 in federal Homeland Security grant money over four years ago, the Knox County Weapons of Mass Destruction Board decided Tuesday to keep the equipment.
The Knox County Fire Chiefs Association passed a resolution in July to recommend the sale of the truck and trailer, because of the inability to form a countywide hazmat team due to budget and manpower constraints of county fire departments.
Knox County EMA Director Marie Blubaugh had asked the chiefs for their recommendation, in the hopes the unused equipment could be sold and the money used to purchase needed communication equipment for county emergency departments.
Since that meeting, the Ohio EMA Board informed Knox County EMA that if the equipment sold was worth more than $5,000, the money would have to be returned to the federal government.
Blubaugh said the most recent appraisal of the trailer and its contents was $51,000, but since some of the equipment is expired and must be disposed of, the actual value may be somewhat lower.
The pickup truck purchased in 2004 to tow the trailer, which cost over $30,000, would also be worth more than the $5,000 cap; therefore, if both were sold, the money would not be kept in the county.
“I personally was not inclined to do that,” said Knox County Commissioner Allen Stockberger. “It’s an asset to the people of Knox County and to just give it away doesn’t seem prudent to the people of Knox County.”
The second option available to the county, according to the guidelines provided by the state, is to sign a mutual aid agreement with another county’s hazmat team, and share the use of the equipment.
The third option, which the WMD Board has decided is the most useful for the county, is to keep the truck, trailer and equipment in Knox County.
Mount Vernon Fire Chief Shawn Christy said the equipment on the trailer which is still usable, such as large spill pads, river booms and barrels of absorbent material, all used to contain hazardous materials such as spilled fuel, will be available for containment and prevention of further spreading of a spill.
If a situation exceeds the capabilities of hazmat resources in the county, a team from another county can be called for mutual aid. Christy said a situation requiring mutual aid from another county would be extremely rare.
“We are now in a defensive mode versus an offensive mode,” Stockberger said of the approach the county will take to hazmat situations.
Christy said this new approach to the use of the equipment will put it to the best use.
“We have better defined the expectations for the truck and trailer,” he explained.
Because major hazmat situations in the county are rare, the WMD Board members said having the equipment available to be used in smaller-scale incidents, as well as large ones, makes sense.
Blubaugh said the Mount Vernon Fire Department, which holds the titles for both vehicles, would continue to provide insurance and maintenance.
Any materials used in an actual spill would be billed to the company or individual at fault in a hazmat spill.
“Each department can opt to use it or not use it,” said Rick Lanuzza, Fredericktown EMS chief. “We can use it in a defensive way to try to contain it. I’m looking at it as a mutual aid resource.”
Lanuzza, who is president of the Knox County Fire Chiefs Association and represents that association on the WMD Board, said the fact the money would be lost to the county if the equipment was sold changed the attitude of some regarding the sale of the equipment.
“I opted to withdraw our letter of support that went to Knox County EMA,” he said. “When we made that recommendation we were under a different pretext.”
Stockberger said he was glad the Ohio EMA was part of the meeting.
“The action taken by the WMD Board I believe was sanctioned by the state EMA,” Stockberger said of Tuesday’s decision. “I personally feel that was a good thing because of some of the misinformation involved in this.”
Lanuzza said how the funding will work to replace equipment used from the trailer remains one of his concerns. Christy said the commissioners have said they will come through with temporary funding for anything used in a hazmat situation, until the money can be recovered from the party involved in the incident.
Christy said he believes keeping the equipment in the county will help departments address emergency situations in the county faster. Although the county has not experienced a large-scale hazmat spill in several years, the situation is always a possibility given the large number of heavily traveled state routes in the county.
Although local fire departments all have the resources to deal with smaller spills, and firefighters in the county all receive basic hazmat awareness training, if more resources were needed, the trailer would be brought to the scene of a hazmat incident by the MVFD. A hazmat team from another county could take an hour or two to arrive, and the materials on the trailer could be used by local firefighters to keep the scene from expanding until another team arrives.
Stockberger said the commissioners feel “somewhat relieved” by the decision.
“The commissioners’ position on it has been all along it’s been a thorn in our side,” he said of the trailer. “I hope that this now resolves that.”
Christy said he believes the relatively low cost of continuing to maintain and insure the equipment is outweighed by the potential benefits the truck and trailer could provide should the county suffer a hazmat incident.
“The fire service as a whole needs to be proactive in addressing hazards,” Christy explained. “The cost that it takes to maintain this equipment on a yearly basis is low. The benefit to the city of Mount Vernon as well as the county is significant.”
