FIREFIGHTERS PRACTICE FOR CHEMICAL ATTACK.Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer BURBANK - Firefighters and hazmat crews displayed their readiness for chemical attack Tuesday, demonstrating how they would decontaminate de·con·tam·i·nate tr.v. de·con·tam·i·nat·ed, de·con·tam·i·nat·ing, de·con·tam·i·nates 1. To eliminate contamination in. 2. and care for victims of such an assault. Emergency crews set up a decontamination decontamination /de·con·tam·i·na·tion/ (de?kon-tam-i-na´shun) the freeing of a person or object of some contaminating substance, e.g., war gas, radioactive material, etc. de·con·tam·i·na·tion n. corridor with two fire trucks at Burbank's Ontario Street fire training facility, where six volunteer ``victims'' were showered with water, covered with plastic bags and treated by a medical technician See PC technician and software technician. . Statewide, 30 other departments participated in such drills. ``The idea is the firefighters are learning about techniques, and learning how to teach those techniques to others,'' said Carroll Car·roll , James 1854-1907. British-born American physician noted for his research on yellow fever. In 1900 he deliberately infected himself with the disease for experimental purposes. Wills, spokesman for the California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). Fire Fighter Joint Apprenticeship apprenticeship, system of learning a craft or trade from one who is engaged in it and of paying for the instruction by a given number of years of work. The practice was known in ancient Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, as well as in modern Europe and to some extent Committee. About two dozen Burbank employees took part, along with staffers from Arcadia and other cities. ``A lot of the smaller departments are participating in this because they don't have access to dedicated hazmat units like the larger departments, but many of their cities could be targets,'' Wills said. The demonstration was funded by a $1 million state grant, which expires at the end of the year. The apprenticeship committee is asking the state to consider continuing the grants to keep firefighters in training. As with many other municipalities, Burbank's Fire Department must make a 10 percent cut in its budget to help the city offset an anticipated $9.5 million budget deficit. ``It's ironic how in these days of budget cuts, we are being asked to do more,'' said Burbank Fire Chief Mike Davis. ``We are much further ahead in our training since pre-9-11, but we still have a long way to go.'' Earlier this month, Davis proposed cutting $21,000 from hazardous materials training and about $93,000 for paramedic par·a·med·ic n. A person who is trained to give emergency medical treatment or assist medical professionals. paramedic training. The 16-hour comprehensive training exercise was developed by the apprenticeship committee, a labor-management partnership established two decades ago to improve the quality and quantity of training available to fire departments. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Burbank firefighters suit up in hazardous materials protection for a chemical decontamination training drill Tuesday morning. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer |
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