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Pictured are Somerset fire Chief Pete Barnhart, Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes, hazmat team Capt. Jim Clark, his daughter Jessie Clark, Somerset County General Authority Chairman Fred Smith, Commissioner Jim Marker, Commissioner Brad Cober and emergency management Director Richard Lohr. (Staff photo by Tiffany Wright)

FRIEDENS — For almost 10 years, the Somerset Volunteer Fire Department Hazmat team’s equipment has been scattered across the county, but from now on it will be located in a hangar at the Somerset County Airport.

County commissioners, hazmat team members and volunteer firefighters attended a dedication ceremony on Monday for the new hazmat building. Members of the hazmat team asked the commissioners for a more centralized space to house their equipment. “We were approached by the hazmat team sometime last year,” Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes said. “At first we were going to construct a building but the hangar became available. What’s nice about this is the space was immediately available.” The Wheeler family previously owned the hangar, but sold the space to the Somerset County General Authority. The space was purchased for $325,000 from general funds, Tokar-Ickes said.

Jim Clark, hazmat team captain, said the team is grateful for the building. “Now our equipment doesn’t have to be spread out,” he said. “We had some at the airport, in Berlin and over on Franklin Avenue (in Somerset). Instead of running for the equipment it will be in a central location to come to. We’ll know what equipment we need to bring and it will make coordination easier. It will also be better for training purposes.” Response equipment, trailers and trucks will be stored at the hangar, Somerset fire Chief Pete Barnhart said. “Everything is going to be consolidated,” he said. “Without this we wouldn’t know where we would put our equipment.” Emergency Management Agency Director Richard Lohr said the hangar is a good base site. “This is a good location, a central location, with lots of room in the building,” he said. Barnhart said it will take one to two weeks to transfer the equipment.

Four fire departments in the county represent the hazmat team, which consists of 30 active members, he said. The unit was formed in 1987. General Authority Chairman Fred Smith will be responsible for the building, which is located along Runway Road.

(Tiffany Wright may be contacted at tiffanyw@dailyamerican.com.)

The Somerset Volunteer Fire Department received a $150,000 grant from the Department of Homeland Security. The department has applied for the grant three times.

The grant will be used to buy new self-contained breathing apparatus, Fire Chief Pete Barnhart said. “We're looking at replacing 30 SCBAs,” he said. “The ones we have now are about 11 years old (and) they no longer meet National Fire Protection Association standards. We're buying new ones that will meet the new 2007 standards.” Barnhart said the only thing that was different about this grant application was applying for the SCBAs “This is the first year we applied for self-contained breathing apparatus,” he said. “We're very grateful for it.

It will provide a lot better protection for our firefighters going into a burning building.” The department would not have been able to upgrade its equipment without the grant. “Without this grant, replacement would not have happened,” Barnhart said. The grants are provided to fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical service organizations to enhance first responders' ability to protect the health and safety of the public and that of first-responder personnel, according to a press release.

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September 22, 2007 Click to view photos >>