Haz-mat team clears house for burn

A hazardous materials team from Redmond donned chemical-proof suits and respirators to enter a house in Sisters on Tuesday, February 7, testing for chemicals associated with methamphetamine.

The crew cleared the house, which means the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District can move forward with plans to burn the structure in a training exercise on February 25.

According to Sisters Deputy Fire Chief Ken Enoch, the crew was summoned because there had been some unsubstantiated rumor that the house might have seen some methamphetamine activity in the past. Methamphetamine manufacture utilizes numerous toxic and hazardous chemicals.

The Sisters fire department wanted to make sure the building was safe before burning it — and the haz-mat team wanted to use the opportunity for a training run in field conditions.

“We are here today to monitor the atmosphere inside the house for hazardous materials,” said Jake Campbell, leader of the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Region 7 Haz-Mat Team.

Two team members suited up and entered the house after lengthy preparations. They carried computer monitors that “sniff” the air for the presence of chemicals. While the monitors can test for specific chemicals, all that is required is a positive reading for the presence of a hazard.

“At that point they’ve determined that it’s not a safe atmosphere and they’ll leave,” Campbell said.

If that had happened the crew would have sealed the house and summoned a cleanup team to get rid of the chemicals.

Campbell said that in addition to the air samples, his crew was going to take some solid samples — wood chips and the like — for testing in a lab. The team’s massive trailer has a portable lab to allow testing in the field, but that was not part of last week’s exercise.

Once the haz-mat team gave the all clear, Sisters’ deputy fire chief Enoch was able to move forward with plans for a burn-to-learn exercise set for Saturday, February 25.

“It’ll be a multi-agency drill,” Enoch said. “We plan on doing ventilation, attack search-and-rescue and exposure protection.”

The drill will likely include members of the Black Butte Ranch Fire Protection District and the Cloverdale Fire District. Enoch said that there will be plenty of firefighters on hand to make sure the burn is safe and to be available to respond to any other emergency that may occur at the same time as the exercise.