|
On June 28 1988, the Allegheny County Commissioners placed into service the first specially equipped Hazardous Materials units for Allegheny County.
The five hazmat units have been placed in strategic locations throughout Allegheny County. The County is divided into five hazmat response areas. The Blue Team (N.E.A.R.A.) services the Northeast and Northwest areas; the Red Team (East Borough Response Organization) services the Eastern areas; the Green Team (Specialized Intervention Team) services the entire Southern area; the Silver Team (North Hills Response Team) services 25 municipalities in the Northeastern Central area just north of the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers. The City of Pittsburgh Gold Team responds to hazmat emergencies within the City of Pittsburgh. All units from all five hazmat teams are equipped with the latest hazardous materials equipment, each having flash-rated fully encapsulated suits, the latest in monitoring equipment, and communications capabilities. All units are also equipped with UHF, VHF and 800Mhz radios that enable communications to every fire, police and EMS agency in Allegheny County. All Hazardous Materials Teams are dispatched by the Allegheny County 911 Communications Center. All five Hazardous Materials Teams are each certified by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) and by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. |