Hazardous Materials Operations

The Hazardous Materials Operations (HAZMAT Ops) course is a five-day program that equips emergency responders with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to analyze, plan, and implement performance-defensive response actions at hazardous materials incidents. Participants receive both classroom instruction and hands-on training in the duties, activities, and responsibilities of operations-level HAZMAT responders.

Students conduct advanced practical exercises in the Nation's only toxic agent training site, the Chemical, Ordnance, Biological and Radiological (COBRA) Training Facility. The course is aligned with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 470, Standard for Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Emergency Response Personnel Professional Qualifications.

Key skill sets addressed in this course include, but are not limited to:

Identifying hazardous materials containers
Identifying sources of hazardous materials response information
Identifying types, properties, and behaviors of hazardous materials
Conducting response planning for hazardous materials incidents
Implementing defensive response actions at hazardous materials incidents
Donning and doffing personal protective equipment
Conducting decontamination operations
Applying product control techniques, including:
Absorption
Adsorption
Damming
Diking
Dilution
Diversion
Retention
Remote valve shutoff
Vapor dispersion
Vapor suppression

Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Service, Governmental Administrative, Hazardous Materials, Healthcare, Law Enforcement, Public Health, Public Safety Communications, Public Works, Agriculture, Education, Security and Safety, Search and Rescue, Transportation, and any responders having operations-level response duties during a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive (CBRNE)/all-hazards incidents.

Note: This is not the prerequisite course for attendance to the Hazardous Devices School in Huntsville, AL. (Please refer to the Hazardous Materials Technician course)

 

To be eligible for the course, a student must successfully complete the following courses:

• AWR-358-dL Hazardous Materials Awareness Distance Learning;
• IS-100.b, Introduction to the Incident Command System, IS-100, or any of the ICS-100 series;
• IS-200.b ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents, IS-200, or any of the ICS-200 series;
• Have a requirement or responsibility to serve as an operations-level HAZMAT responder;
• Be capable of lifting tools and equipment up to approximately 50 pounds, per the Occupational Safety and Health Administration;
• Be capable of standing and walking for prolonged periods;
• Be capable of donning, operating in, and doffing personal protective equipment to include being physically and mentally capable of wearing a respirator that conforms tightly to the face and/or equipment that encapsulates the head; and
• Be capable of operating in confined spaces.
• Graduates of this program have the opportunity to take the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications (ProBoard) and the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) exams for certification at the Hazardous Materials, Operations Level.

This Operations-level course and the successful completion of the Hazardous Materials Technician (HMT) course allows the student to take the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications (ProBoard) and the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) exam for Pro Board certification as a Hazardous Materials Technician.

As a professional courtesy, the CDP provides test administration at the CDP facility immediately following the conclusion of the Hazardous Materials Operations course. As a prerequisite for Pro Board and IFSAC accreditation, each participant who elects to take the test must provide with the training application documented proof of NFPA 470 Hazardous Materials Awareness & Operations training and complete the below course requirements.

• Pass the CDP Hazardous Materials Operations course.
• Pass the skills evaluations conducted as part of the Hazardous Materials Operations course.
• Pass the AFC’s 75-question test at the end of the Hazardous Materials Operations course which combines Awarness and Operations questions.
• Contact AFC’s Registration Office, pay the $50 fee, and request release of your final score.

Please read the Certification Candidate Information Sheet for further information.

The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) is an Accredited Provider (AP) of Continuing Education Units (CEU) and is authorized to award the following CEUs for successful completion of this activity:

IACET (International Association of Continuing Education and Training) – 4.0 CEUs