Untitled - Town of Windham

SOUTHEASTERN NHHAZARDOUS MATERIALS DISTRICTABOUT THE DISTRICT: The Southeastern New Hampshire Hazardous Materials Mutual Aid District’smembership is comprised of 14 communities, covering approximately 350 square miles with a populationof over 175,000 people within the Route 93 corridor. Essentially the District is bordered in the east byRoute 125 and the Merrimack River to the west. North and south borders are defined by Manchester,Route 101 and the Massachusetts state line. The District was formed in 1993 to develop a regionalapproach in dealing with the increasing amounts of hazardous materials being used and transported withinthese communities. This District is recognized by the State of New Hampshire as the RegionalEmergency Planning Committee (REPC) for the member communities. The REPC, which consists ofrepresentatives from local government, industry, and the general public, is working with industry tocomply with federal regulations for the reporting of chemicals used within and traveling through theDistrict.The District draws its funding from an annual assessment from each community, as well as from grantsand donations. The 2012 operating budget for the District was $97,118.00. Additionally, in 2012 theDistrict applied for and received federal grants for equipment, training, and operational expenses totaling$196,714.91. The Fire Chiefs from each of the member communities’ make-up the OperationsCommittee of the District. This Operations Committee is overseen by a Board of Directors consisting ofelected representatives from each community, who approve the budget and any changes to the bylaws.The Executive Board of the Operations Committee, which consists of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman,Treasurer, Technician Team Liaison, and one Member at Large, manages the operations of the Districtwithin the approved budget. The District employees a part-time REPC Director to manage theadministration functions of the District, including grants management, financial management, andemergency planning.THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM: The District operates a technical emergency response team.This response team is overseen by one of the member community’s Chief Fire Officer who serves in theTechnical Team Liaison position. The team maintains a three level readiness response posture to permit itto immediately deploy an appropriate response to a District’s community’s request for help involving anunplanned release of potentially dangerous chemicals within their jurisdiction. While the team primarilyprepares for response to unplanned accidental chemical releases it is also equipped and trained to dealwith a variety of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) scenarios. The team maintains a host ofspecialized response equipment to deal with chemical and environmental emergencies.The Emergency Response Team is made up of 32 members drawn from the ranks of the fire departmentswithin the District. The team consists of 6 Technician Team Leaders, 18 Technician Level members, 5Communication Specialists, and 3 Information Technology Specialists. In addition to members drawnfrom member fire departments, the team also includes members from various backgrounds that act asadvisors to the team in their specific areas of expertise. These advisors include an industrial chemist, andseveral police officers.The Team maintains a fleet of vehicles and specialized equipment with a value of approximately$1,000,000. The vehicles consist of a mobile Command Support Unit, 2 Response Trucks, 2 SpillTrailers, a Technician Trailer, an Operations/Spill Trailer and a Mobile Decontamination Trailer.2012 ANNUAL REPORTS 124 TOWN OF WINDHAM, NH