COUNTY, CITY OFFICIALS UNVEIL HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TRAILER

Area emergency response officials unveiled a hazardous materials trailer Wednesday that will serve a seven-county area.

The trailer and a decontamination tent were unveiled at Cape Girardeau Fire Station No. 1. Cape Girardeau County's new communications van also was displayed at the fire station.

David Hitt, the county's emergency operations director, said the trailer and decontamination tent will serve Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Perry, Madison, Ste. Genevieve, St. Francois and Iron counties.

The trailer, decontamination tent and other hazardous material response equipment cost about $30,000, said Mark Hasheider, battalion chief for the Cape Girardeau Fire Department. The funding came from user fees paid by service stations and others who use hazardous materials.

Cape Girardeau firefighters helped set up the trailer and also worked on the county's red communications van, which was formerly used by the Jackson Fire Department.

The emergency operations van will be housed at the Jackson Fire Department. The van is equipped with various radio equipment and even has an antenna to receive satellite-transmitted phone calls.

The hazardous material response trailer will be housed at Cape Girardeau's Fire Station No. 4.

Hasheider said the response trailer has its own weather station that will keep track of everything from temperature to wind speed. The trailer includes information on over 10,000 chemicals.

The decontamination tent is the only one in Southeast Missouri, Hasheider said. It can be provided with hot water and heat. The tent has partitions that could be used as shower stalls.

Hasheider said he expects the hazardous response trailer and its equipment to be used a number of times a year. He said its use likely will increase "as we become more sensitive to our environment."