Crime & Safety

Springfield Fire Changed Dramatically After 9/11

Crew made changes to equipment, techniques and communications.

Ask a Springfield firefighters what changed for the department after 9/11 and the answer is quick.

Everything.

Following the attacks on the Twin Towers, Springfield’s fire department changed drastically.  They grew more connected to other fire departments. They acquired a barrage of new tools and equipment. They learned to approach emergencies differently.

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After September 11, firefighters learned to become more precautionary when responding to emergencies. Their job description had always gone beyond dousing fires with water, and they relearned methods to respond to new kids of emergencies, ones that could involve toxic elements, petrochemical fires and poison. It wasn’t a matter of rushing into flames to save lives.

Firefighters were outfitted with new gear, like full body hazmat suits to protect them from exposure when responding to toxic emergencies. Each Springfield firefighter was outfitted with an injection pen, an emergency syringe meant to be jammed into a leg in the case of exposure to nerve agents. The department established decontamination protocols and equipment and fire fighters’ breathing equipment was beefed up to withstand chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear exposure. 

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The Springfield force drew up plans for specialized targets in town, namely the office of the state court and local IRS office (both offices later moved).

Through the state group Urban Areas Security Initiative, Springfield joined other local departments in interdepartmental training exercises for crisis-level emergencies. Cross-department mutual aid practices were streamlined through the NJ Fire Service Resource Emergency Deployment Rules.

Through a UASI grant, the department received a 4000-gallon foam pump tender to fight chemical and gas fires, a mechanism that Maas said could fill a backyard swimming pool with foam in minutes.

 


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