NHIT was formed in 1987 as a joint venture between the Nebraska State Fire Marshal, Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and the Nebraska State Patrol to provide a diverse response to a hazardous material incident. The NHIT team is an additional resource to assist the local and county officials during a hazardous materials incident or to act as a liaison for contacting additional resources to assist during their incident. Members of NHIT are located across the state and are trained to technician level requirements in accordance with NFPA 472 and OSHA 1910.120.
Team members can cover all aspects of an incident. Members are capable of responding to both fixed facilities and transportation incidents, depending upon the severity of the hazardous material incident. Once on the scene members can assume several different roles at an incident. They may serve as advisers, technical support, and additional manpower or provide a “hands on approach” to controlling a leak. Each member carries an SCBA, chemical protective clothing, air monitoring equipment, decontamination equipment, plugging and patching material and tools. Individual members have expertise in select areas of hazardous material response.
The team is dispatched upon request of local law enforcement or fire departments and is made by calling the nearest State Patrol Troop Area Dispatch Center. Team members will not assume control or responsibility of a scene. The following information should be provided at the time of request:
- Location
- Injuries/Fatalities
- Product/ID# Placard
- Type and Size of Containers
- Leaking/Spray/Cloud
- Surroundings/Terrain
- Population
- Weather
- Wind Direction
- Wind Speed
- Temperature
- Precipitation
- Changes
