Valley Waste, firefighters, Hazmat team train together

By Lawrence Powell

The Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

Members of Lawrencetown, Bridgetown, Middleton, Nictaux, and Port Lorne fire departments joined with 14 Wing Greenwood’s Hazmat Emergency Response Team and Valley Waste Resource to stage a realistic double training exercise Saturday at the Valley Waste centre in Lawrencetown.

While a ‘fire’ raged at the back of the property, a ‘chemical spill’ endangered the lives of two Valley Waste employees -- Marvin Francis and Bernie Shaw. The Hazmat team quickly assemble their gear, including a tent and decontamination tank. Firefighters got to watch and two of them were invited to don orange suits and join the rescue.

Brian Ginpil, Valley Waste’s OHS manager, said the training exercise was put together by Lawrencetown Fire Chief Eric Bent, 14 Wing Hazmat team’s incident commander Steve Tucker, and himself. Ginpil said he hopes a similar exercise can be arranged for Valley Waste’s centre in Kentville.

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