Haz-Mat

The Farmington Fire Department established a Hazardous Material (haz-mat) Team in September 1987. It currently consists of 21 Haz-Mat Technician level trained firefighters. This is the only haz-mat team in North-West New Mexico and we respond as a Regional Response Team to major haz-mat incidents within San Juan County and adjacent areas.

The following equipment for the team can be found at Farmington Fire Station 4, 790 S Hutton Road;
  • Special Response Unit 4. A 1993 LDV truck, the front part is setup as a command post /research center with several computers and printers, while the back part stores haz mat equipment, including four 75 minute SCBAs. It is equipped with a satellite disk for the internet connectivity and a 60 psi breathing air cascade system.
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  • Haz-Mat Trailer. A 1995 21 feet All-Dorado trailer with most of the spill response equipment, an assortment of haz-mat suits, and the other four 75 minute SCBAs.
  • Decontamination Trailer. A 2004 16 feet Wells Cargo trailer carrying a mass decon tent with two ambulatory decon lanes with build in showers and a middle non-ambulatory decon lane. It includes a water heater and two air heaters for all-weather operations and a generator to power it all.
  • Mass Decontamination Trailer. A 2007 28 feet AACS, self-contained decontamination trailer. This trailer has two heated or cooled inside ambulatory decon lanes for all-weather decon operations with two supplementary outside decon lanes. It is powered by an on board diesel generator and has two diesel fire water heaters.
  • Utility 4. A 2008 M2 Freight liner truck, which is designated to pull the mass decon trailer.
  • Swift Water Oil Spill Emergency Response Trailer. A 2010 24 feet Hallmark trailer, with 1,500 feet of oil spill retaining boom and related equipment to recover spilled oil from our rivers and lakes. This trailer is owned by a consortium of several local oil field companies and the Farmington Fire Dept. It is a good example of how the industry and emergency services work together to protect the community.
Due to lack of space at station 4 the following haz-mat equipment is stored at station 6;
  • Utility 6. A 1996 Ford 1-ton dual crew cab pickup to pull the haz-mat trailers.
  • Fire all-terrain vehicle. A 2006 Polaris Ranger 4x4 on an aluminum trailer.
Farmington Fire’s Hazardous Materials team is a very progressive team; many of our members have attended special haz-mat training, such as radiation response training at the “Nuclear Test Center” in Nevada, and chemical warfare agent response training in Anniston, Alabama. To keep up with the latest developments in haz-mat response, members have attended haz-mat conferences in Houston, Texas and Baltimore, Maryland. The team has competed many years in the Los Alamos Haz-Mat Challenge, where they placed first several years.