Oklahoma fire department defends Hazmat Challenge title

Twelve hazardous materials response teams put their skills to the test

Midwest City Oklahoma Fire Department competing in the rail car prop. Midwest City won the 14th annual Hazmat Challenge. Photo by LeRoy N. Sanchez.

August 2, 2010—Midwest City, Oklahoma's Fire Department successfully defended its title in winning the 14th annual Hazmat Challenge hosted last week at the Lab's Technical Area 49.

Midwest City took first place in both the "technical" and overall categories. Farmington Fire Department and Sandia National Laboratories’ Emergency Response Team tied for second place in the technical category, which is based on the eight scenarios that made up this year's challenge.

In the overall category, Sandia National Laboratories took second place, and Farmington Fire Department was third. Sandia also captured the Sportsmanship trophy, which is voted on by team members and prop operators.

"This year's challenge went extremely well. The comments from team members were that these were the most realistic scenarios, yet they learned a tremendous amount," said Chris Rittner of Emergency Response (EO-ER), coordinator of the challenge.

Twelve teams and a total of 60 people competed in this year’s Hazmat Challenge. Another 75 people observed or operated props from the Laboratory, the federal Department of Transportation, FEMA, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

The Hazmat Challenge provides hazardous materials responders the opportunity to network and learn new techniques under realistic conditions in a safe environment. The Laboratory began the Hazmat Challenge in 1996 as a way to hone the skills of its own hazmat team members. The competition now offers a training opportunity for other New Mexico and regional hazardous materials response teams.