HUNTERDON COUNTY, NJ – Hunterdon County Commissioners recently received a detailed update from Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator Andrew Camp about the Hunterdon County Hazardous Materials Response Unit (HMRU), a program that provides emergency response to hazardous materials and toxic substance release incidents countywide and to neighboring jurisdictions upon request.
The primary mission of HMRU is to save lives, protect property, and minimize environmental impacts through continuous training and constant research in all aspects of hazardous materials response.
Commissioner John Lanza, who also serves as the liaison to the Department of Public Safety and OEM said, “As a Board, we understand the importance of the HazMat team and appreciate the important role they provide in emergency response to hazardous material incidents that directly affect Hunterdon County and neighboring areas. The Hazardous Materials Response Unit not only responds to incidents of toxic substance release, but also provides operational support and technical guidance to other first responder disciplines, to help them save lives, protect property, and mitigate environmental effects.”
The HMRU program is managed jointly by the Hunterdon County Health Department and the Department of Public Safety, under the shared mission to protect human health from hazardous incidents.
The HMRU team consists of staff from the Health Department Environmental Division, County Office of Emergency Management, the Communications Department, and the Parks Division, as well as volunteer members from the community. All individuals are trained and certified by the New Jersey State Police, Hazardous Materials Technician Level 3.
HMRU operates out of one centrally located station in Raritan Township, and consists of two specialty apparatus, two trailers, and two duty officer vehicles, all equipped with the necessary tools and resources. Their equipment includes protective gear, air monitoring devices, chemical detection tools, and more. Additionally, they have a Mobile Command Post (Command 86) for coordinating responses during hazmat incidents.
“The HazMat unit strives to utilize a risk based response to all incidents we are called to. This approach allows for the most positive outcome while keeping the public and fellow emergency responders as safe as possible,” Camp said.
The Health Department maintains an on-call duty officer to provide 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 weeks a year active support and guidance to all first responders upon request to Hunterdon County Communications for all health-related matters, including Hazardous Materials Response.
