The Greenwich Fire Department's new truck designed to haul the town's mass decontamination trailer to respond to terrorist attacks is ready to roll.
The truck, dubbed the Prime Mover, is specifically designed for the task of pulling the town's mass decontamination unit, which is equipped to decontaminate about 1,000 people in the event of a terrorist attack involving biological agents such as anthrax or exposure to hazardous materials, said Daniel Warzoha, the town's Emergency Operations Management Coordinator.
The truck is one of 34 given to towns around Connecticut by the state through a U.S. Department of Justice grant -- including fire departments in Stamford, Norwalk, and Fairfield -- to ensure a quicker response to potential disasters in the region, Warzoha said.
"With four of these trailers located in Fairfield County, our response time to any incident will now be greatly reduced," Warzoha said. "It will provide greater security for the entire region."
In the event of a biological attack in New York City or elsewhere, the decontamination unit would back up Greenwich Hospital, focusing on potentially contaminated residents coming back to town.
In October 2001, Greenwich Hospital treated about 20 patients with preventive antibiotics who were screened for potential anthrax exposure after visiting or being near anthrax attack sites, including the offices of a South Florida tabloid publisher and NBC studios in New York City, hospital officials said.
"Our main concern will be people coming out of New York on mass transit," Warzoha said. "It's already happened here in 2001 with people coming off the train and going to Greenwich Hospital. So it's real."
Firefighters will drive the truck in emergencies, Greenwich Assistant Fire Chief Mike Puterbaugh said. The decontamination trailer is kept at the department's North Street station, but a permanent location for the Prime Mover has not been chosen. For now it is parked at the Fleet Maintenance Center on Indian Field Road.
"This is definitely an important addition to our emergency response capability," Puterbaugh said.
The state's Career Fire Chief's Association picked Warzoha as their representative to work with state emergency officials to create the design specifications of the truck four years ago.
The four-door cab of the truck seats five people, the minimum number needed to operate the decontamination trailer effectively, Warzoha said.
The cargo bay of the truck will carry another load of special soaps, bags for contaminated clothing, and other equipment used by the decontamination trailer.
In return for the $138,000 trucks, towns have signed agreements with the state promising round-the-clock availability for decontamination emergencies in the region.
Warzoha also serves as a regional emergency coordinator for the state, an unpaid position in which he is responsible for planning the deployment of Fairfield and Litchfield county fire personnel in the event of a major disaster.
The 14-ton truck also is equipped with a new communications system that will allow emergency responders from any town or department to talk at a disaster scene, Warzoha said.
In the meantime, the town will be allowed to use the truck for everyday emergencies, possibly as a place for firefighters to recuperate during fires, Warzoha said.
Last fall the town put a $607,000 38-foot truck, called Special Operations One, into service. Its cabin serves as a mobile headquarters during disasters, including equipment to detect chemical and biological agents. The truck contains multiple radios and can access the town's global positioning system and satellite phone networks.
"All of this equipment can be used in tandem and support each other in a disaster situation," Warzoha said. "But we prefer we would never have to use it."
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