Fire Chief V. E. Rogers started the Houston's Hazardous Materials Response Team
(HMRT). He had attended a fire chief’s convention in 1978 where he saw a
presentation of Jacksonville's new hazmat team. Rogers thought at the time that if
anyone needed a hazmat team, it was the Houston Fire Department. After all,
Houston was the petrochemical capital of the world. Rogers set a team in motion
immediately after returning from the convention.
Rogers was one of the firefighters injured at the Houston BLEVE on Mykawa Road.
He had been badly burned in the explosion. It took an extended stay in a hospital
to recover from the painful burns across his back and lower. Many folks later
thought that Rogers started the team because of this experience, but the real
impetus for beginning the Houston hazmat team was hearing about the
Jacksonville's team at the convention.
He chose District Chief Max H. McRae to organize the team. (Some would question
the choice because McRae's district was not in the east side of the city where
most of the chemical plants and refineries were located; his tenure had been
limited to the "silk-stocking" area of southwest Houston.) McRae wanted no part of
hazardous materials and began to delay his assignment. He made several
proposals over the following months for plans to handle Houston's hazmat
incidents without a hazmat team. The proposals generally involved the use of the
industrial hazmat teams from nearby chemical plants. This way, Houston would not
need its own hazmat team. Anything that would take McRae out of the picture.
Chief Rogers rejected each new proposal. This went on into several months of
1979. Finally, Rogers had enough. He told McRae in no uncertain terms to quit
stalling and get him a team. The delaying tactic quickly came to a halt.
Everything was in fair order to begin training on September 17. Industry was
tapped to teach the neophytes. Much of the training turned out to be of doubtful
value. Chemistry, which was thought to be important to a hazmat team, did little to
enhance the needed skills. (The original requirement of a chemistry background
for recruitment was quickly reduced to a nice-to-know attribute, but not essential.)
None of the training did too much to build skills. About the only hands-on training
was with chlorine containers and patching a few drums. Training was mostly
lectures and viewing containers. McRae became concerned after the school. He
had a feeling the team was not ready for the street.
There was no budget for the new team. Much of the equipment and supplies were
mooched from industry. Personal tools of the men were used in the beginning. The
team was to be a combination rescue-hazmat company, but the new rescue truck
lacked room for the bulkier hazmat equipment and supplies. Nothing in reserve
was suitable for a hazmat apparatus. As a last resort, the old worn-out rescue
truck, which had been retired with the arrival of the new rescue trucks, was
retrieved from the salvage yard. It was to run with the rescue truck on hazmat calls.
The way things had been thrown together surely destined the team for a short life.
Many new ventures of the fire department at the time usually faded away after a
short while, and it was quite possible the team would suffer a similar fate. There
were no past experiences to guide the committee that put together the team.
Everything had been hit and miss.
Team Begins
At 0630 hours on October 5, 1979, the Hazardous Materials Response Team (HMRT)
began operations. The new team was assigned to Fire Station 1. The committee
had recommended the team run out of a fire station in the east end of town near
the petrochemical complexes. Chief Rogers nixed the recommendation. New
apparatus and new special companies were always put at the central station, and
HMRT was no exception. A minor chlorine leak greeted the B-shift on the very first
day.
Several days later, the team was pulled out of service to complete its training at
Dow Chemical Company in Freeport. Dow was unable to do its part during the
regular school. The training proved to be what a hazmat team needed. The out-of-
town classes were totally hands-on training taught by Dow's hazmat team led by
"Beans" Little, a well-respected hazmat responder. His name kept popping up
during the school. Dow's training instilled confidence in Houston's team.
Only twenty-six hazmat incidents were recorded during the balance of the year. A
lack of hazmat runs would make it difficult to keep men on the team. Most
firefighters craved action. A busy company has little time to create problems for
the captain and chief. Actually, there were many more hazmat incidents during the
rest of 1979, but fire dispatchers failed to dispatch hazmat on the alarms. The
problem haunted the team for years before dispatchers remembered the fire
department had a hazmat team.
An even greater annoyance soon evolved. HMRT was saddled with hazardous
waste, a problem that was beginning to plague the country. Tougher government
regulations forced midnight dumping of hazardous waste. No other city
department was prepared to deal with the problem. Retrieval, storage and
disposal of the hazardous wastes fell to HMRT. It was a nagging problem that
escalated to a point where some of the men rebelled. Other than hazardous waste,
many of the other early problems were settled over time.
Today, HMRT has successfully handled thousands of hazmat incidents, some minor
and some extremely dangerous. Involved have been every type of hazmat
container, and almost every hazardous material. The men have been innovative.
They've invented equipment to handle unique incidents and developed new
methods to contain leaks. A training facility was built by the men at the Fire
Training Academy. Forty-two members now make up the elite team dedicated to
protecting the citizens of Houston.
(HMRT). He had attended a fire chief’s convention in 1978 where he saw a
presentation of Jacksonville's new hazmat team. Rogers thought at the time that if
anyone needed a hazmat team, it was the Houston Fire Department. After all,
Houston was the petrochemical capital of the world. Rogers set a team in motion
immediately after returning from the convention.
Rogers was one of the firefighters injured at the Houston BLEVE on Mykawa Road.
He had been badly burned in the explosion. It took an extended stay in a hospital
to recover from the painful burns across his back and lower. Many folks later
thought that Rogers started the team because of this experience, but the real
impetus for beginning the Houston hazmat team was hearing about the
Jacksonville's team at the convention.
He chose District Chief Max H. McRae to organize the team. (Some would question
the choice because McRae's district was not in the east side of the city where
most of the chemical plants and refineries were located; his tenure had been
limited to the "silk-stocking" area of southwest Houston.) McRae wanted no part of
hazardous materials and began to delay his assignment. He made several
proposals over the following months for plans to handle Houston's hazmat
incidents without a hazmat team. The proposals generally involved the use of the
industrial hazmat teams from nearby chemical plants. This way, Houston would not
need its own hazmat team. Anything that would take McRae out of the picture.
Chief Rogers rejected each new proposal. This went on into several months of
1979. Finally, Rogers had enough. He told McRae in no uncertain terms to quit
stalling and get him a team. The delaying tactic quickly came to a halt.
Everything was in fair order to begin training on September 17. Industry was
tapped to teach the neophytes. Much of the training turned out to be of doubtful
value. Chemistry, which was thought to be important to a hazmat team, did little to
enhance the needed skills. (The original requirement of a chemistry background
for recruitment was quickly reduced to a nice-to-know attribute, but not essential.)
None of the training did too much to build skills. About the only hands-on training
was with chlorine containers and patching a few drums. Training was mostly
lectures and viewing containers. McRae became concerned after the school. He
had a feeling the team was not ready for the street.
There was no budget for the new team. Much of the equipment and supplies were
mooched from industry. Personal tools of the men were used in the beginning. The
team was to be a combination rescue-hazmat company, but the new rescue truck
lacked room for the bulkier hazmat equipment and supplies. Nothing in reserve
was suitable for a hazmat apparatus. As a last resort, the old worn-out rescue
truck, which had been retired with the arrival of the new rescue trucks, was
retrieved from the salvage yard. It was to run with the rescue truck on hazmat calls.
The way things had been thrown together surely destined the team for a short life.
Many new ventures of the fire department at the time usually faded away after a
short while, and it was quite possible the team would suffer a similar fate. There
were no past experiences to guide the committee that put together the team.
Everything had been hit and miss.
Team Begins
At 0630 hours on October 5, 1979, the Hazardous Materials Response Team (HMRT)
began operations. The new team was assigned to Fire Station 1. The committee
had recommended the team run out of a fire station in the east end of town near
the petrochemical complexes. Chief Rogers nixed the recommendation. New
apparatus and new special companies were always put at the central station, and
HMRT was no exception. A minor chlorine leak greeted the B-shift on the very first
day.
Several days later, the team was pulled out of service to complete its training at
Dow Chemical Company in Freeport. Dow was unable to do its part during the
regular school. The training proved to be what a hazmat team needed. The out-of-
town classes were totally hands-on training taught by Dow's hazmat team led by
"Beans" Little, a well-respected hazmat responder. His name kept popping up
during the school. Dow's training instilled confidence in Houston's team.
Only twenty-six hazmat incidents were recorded during the balance of the year. A
lack of hazmat runs would make it difficult to keep men on the team. Most
firefighters craved action. A busy company has little time to create problems for
the captain and chief. Actually, there were many more hazmat incidents during the
rest of 1979, but fire dispatchers failed to dispatch hazmat on the alarms. The
problem haunted the team for years before dispatchers remembered the fire
department had a hazmat team.
An even greater annoyance soon evolved. HMRT was saddled with hazardous
waste, a problem that was beginning to plague the country. Tougher government
regulations forced midnight dumping of hazardous waste. No other city
department was prepared to deal with the problem. Retrieval, storage and
disposal of the hazardous wastes fell to HMRT. It was a nagging problem that
escalated to a point where some of the men rebelled. Other than hazardous waste,
many of the other early problems were settled over time.
Today, HMRT has successfully handled thousands of hazmat incidents, some minor
and some extremely dangerous. Involved have been every type of hazmat
container, and almost every hazardous material. The men have been innovative.
They've invented equipment to handle unique incidents and developed new
methods to contain leaks. A training facility was built by the men at the Fire
Training Academy. Forty-two members now make up the elite team dedicated to
protecting the citizens of Houston.
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