And the same wrinkles and problems Farish's team has seen elsewhere also appeared in the drill at Hanford's Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response training center. A terrorist nerve or chemical gas attack on a city inevitably would be messy and confusing. The first firefighters arriving may not even know a gas attack occurred and could be the next casualties. Outdoor victims would have to be checked and removed quickly. There is no time for a rescuer to worry about spinal damage when a victim still is breathing poisonous gas.
Indoor victims pose a different dilemma.
Rescuers would have to make a slow and careful search -likely too long for anyone breathing gas in a room. The Hanford Fire Department is adding response to terrorist chemical attacks to its repertoire of emergency skills. The department wants to start training the Hanford Patrol soon, then the Hanford Environmental Health Foundation and then Tri-City and other Northwest emergency services. Hanford Fire Chief Don Good said the move is an outgrowth of the department already being one of the leading Northwest departments on handling emergencies with hazardous materials. Look at Oklahoma City.