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The original Hazmat Team was established in
the early 1980’s following an accident
containing hazardous chemicals and involving
two vehicles where two victims died. In this
situation rescuers needed to enter the
accident scene, perform rescues, while causing
no harm or illness to all involved in the rescue.
After this incident an idea was born to form a
team that was trained and had the equipment
to respond to, and control a scene that
involved hazardous materials. Captain Robert
Copley of the Colorado State Patrol and
several others from various agencies
spearheaded the original team.
training and some equipment to do the job. The first team members were John Mestas
CSP, Jim Raupe CSP, Andrea Jackson Alamosa EMS, Dave Scheel RGSO, Joe Boos
Alamosa Fire Department, Mike Rogers Alamosa Fire Department, Max DeHerrera La
Jara Fire Department, and Bob Copley, Captain of the CSP.
The first truck that was donated to the organization was a used Coors truck. It was
completed with equipment that had been received from various places including
surplus equipment from the Ft. Carson military facility. The equipment and the attire to
do the work wasn’t fancy by today’s standards but it was a start for a service that
would be needed in the future for hazardous chemical incidents in the valley. Other
people that made the organization grow were people such a Dan Knox who did grant
writing to help obtain funding for the organization, and Jon Stever who helped build
the first decontamination station to go with the equipment. The second truck was a
Pepsi truck of which a lot of work was dedicated. Bob Boss installed the lighting and
the hard work of others made this truck better than the first… and this was the first
truck to have an SCBA cascade air system. Many people have helped to get the SLV
Hazmat team going and we want to thank each and every one of them. This truck is
currently stationed at the South Fork Fire Department to enhance the response
capabilities to the West end of the San Luis Valley, Wolf Creek Pass, and Creede area.
Today we have equipment that is top of the line for this type of organization. Through
a grant the team received a new truck that was delivered February of 2005, which cost
$276,000.00. This truck is equipped with laptop computers, radio systems, weather
monitoring, state of the art SCBA, and many specialty tools and items to help with
various hazardous material incidents. This truck is currently housed at the Alamosa Fire
Department Station #2.
The current team includes Pat Sullivan, Alvin Kunugi, Byron Kunugi, Butch Crowther,
Lane Verschoor, Justin Suthers, Blain Witherspoon, and a current board of directors to
oversee the program. This team is trained and ready to handle anything that may
come their way. The team has dealt with incidents that have involved explosives, fuel
spills, unknown white powders, methamphetamine labs, school chemicals, and
numerous other incidents.
