Multi-Agency Emergency Response > Provincial CBRNE/Hazmat/HUSAR Program
Provincial CBRNE/Hazmat/HUSAR Program
On behalf of the Province, the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) oversees, administers and supports Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with nine municipal fire services. These MOUs enable trained responders to be deployed throughout Ontario as needed in support of local responders dealing with large scale natural or man-made emergencies that exceed local capacity, when an emergency is being declared or contemplated:
- Three specialized expert (technician) Level 3 Chemical / Biological / Radiological / Nuclear/Explosive (CBRNE) Response Teams (established in Toronto, Windsor and Ottawa)
- Six operational support Level 2 teams (Peterborough, Cornwall, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, North Bay, and Cambridge/Waterloo/Kitchener)
- One heavy urban search and rescue (HUSAR) team in Toronto to respond anywhere in Ontario.
Fire coordinators for counties/regions/districts may request
access to provincial support from the teams by contacting
the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (hotlink to
http://www.emergencymanagementontario.ca/english/AboutEmo/
ProvincialEmergencyOperationsCentre/PEOC.html) on a 24-hour
basis.
These teams work and train collaboratively with the OPP Provincial Emergency Response Team (PERT).
- The OFM’s own services and resources in support of CBRNE/Hazmat/HUSAR responses that exceed local capabilities, and as the provincial liaison during deployment of the MOU partner teams:
- Advice and assistance to local responders by hazardous materials specialists
- Support to OFM’s own Fire Investigations Services (FIS) for complex fires involving hazardous materials and, increasingly, clandestine drug labs
- Total of five mobile units located at the Ontario Fire College (OFC) and in Thunder Bay
- Resources including decontamination set up coupled with tent, portable radios, self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), monitoring devices, plugging kits, generators, and lighting, an SCBA refill station coupled with air compressor (OFC and Thunder Bay), command post coupled with satellite feed capability and on board computers and database systems at OFC.
For more information please visit the Office of the Fire Marshal's web site at: www.ofm.gov.on.ca
For more information about this program visit these other web sites:
