IAFC, U.S. DOT offer hazardous materials data base
The Fairfax, Va.-based International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHSMA) will offer a Web-based data center on hazardous materials-related incidents.
The Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Fusion Center aims to facilitate information exchange among first responders to assist in training and the management of hazmat situations. The center is the first effort to collect, analyze and disseminate hazmat information, IAFC and PHSMA officials say. “The days of moving forward on program policy decisions and technical solutions without data are over,” said IAFC President Chief Steven Westermann in a statement. “The fire and emergency service, government and industry will finally have the national-level information they need to create effective, data-driven practices for response and mitigation to hazardous materials incidents.”
More information on the program is available at www.iafc.org.
