CRIME: AREA FIREFIGHTERS HELP OTHERS DEAL WITH METH

Southeast Missouri firefighters have become good enough at handling fires and waste at methamphetamine labs to write the book on it.

Three books, actually, which will be distributed to emergency personnel nationally, said John Sachen, training officer for the Delta Fire Protection District.

Sachen and Capt. Drew Juden of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety presented part of the course last weekend to the top emergency response trainers for 35 states at a seminar in St. Louis.

"About five or six years ago, these labs were catching us by surprise," said Marble Hill Fire Chief Jim Bollinger, one of the architects of the program. "Now we're almost oversaturated with information."

He said that's the main reason why the federally funded project was given to Southeast Missouri firefighters.

The course was put into Sachen's hands almost a year and a half ago through the Fire and Rescue Training Institute in Columbia, Mo. The institute received a federal grant to develop courses for those who are first responders to locations where a methamphetamine lab is the source of a complaint.

"There are many who are put into these situations who may not be aware of the corrosiveness or toxicity of the chemicals," Sachen said.

The basic course, for beginning level responders, gives training about the chemicals involved in making meth, the environment surrounding a lab and what to do and not to do when one is discovered. Courses for intermediate and advanced levels are being produced.

One mistake that first responders can make is allowing lithium residue to come in contact with water, the course text states. Lithium, which meth cooks extract from batteries, is an ingredient in the drug. The course highlights an incident when officers disposed of the residue in a toilet, which caused an explosion that destroyed the commode and attached plumbing.

Strong odors

A lack of awareness about chemical hazards is one of the biggest problems of those who first respond to a methamphetamine lab, Juden said. Most reports involve the odor of anhydrous ammonia, a fertilizer used by meth cooks with a reactive metal.

"If you're not careful with anhydrous, you open a door and the next thing you know is you're knocked out by the odor," Juden said.

Along with the odor, the popularity of portable air tanks among meth cooks for transporting anhydrous ammonia creates a risk of explosion. The tanks aren't built to handle the internal pressures of the liquefied gas, Juden said.

He said overall, law enforcement is far behind on the necessary hazardous materials training needed to respond to a meth lab. But they often work with firefighters during enforcement actions.

Recognizing the danger, some police will contact firefighters in advance of a meth lab bust so that they can be standing by, Sachen said. But since many labs are set up in remote, rural settings, this creates another problem.

"Fire trucks on county roads stand out like a sore thumb," Sachen said.

By their clandestine nature, most meth labs remains rural. For many meth cooks, a popular method is to complete various steps of the manufacturing process in different locations. A popular spot is under bridges. Some meth cooks call this "troll meth," Sachen said.

But meth labs can be set up anywhere, he said.

Reports of methamphetamine labs are growing in suburban areas, Sachen said. He said he knows of several fire districts in the St. Louis area with increasing activity.

"They are responding to meth labs several times a month now when a year ago it was once a month," Sachen said.

Booby traps

The course cautions any first responders to beware of booby traps. Although fewer traps have been found in Southeast Missouri than in counties along Interstate 44, firefighters and others still need to practice extra care, Sachen said. The traps vary from trip wires attached to fish hooks to shotgun shells buried just beneath the ground, called "toe poppers." Some officers found a piece of PVC pipe filled with black powder, dipped in caulk and rolled in broken glass.

But with a typical meth lab producing several pounds of toxic waste which is not disposed of, Bollinger said the most serious danger to the public are the chemicals left behind when methamphetamine has been made.

Bollinger recalled a man who had found some curious leftovers from a meth cook in a ditch by a roadside. He picked it up and took it along with him to a lodge meeting, where several others handled it.

"They didn't know it, but they were handling hazardous materials," Bollinger said.

Those who developed the program hope that it catches on where meth still hasn't.

"We're going to have meth from now on," Bollinger said. "It's just going to move from one place to another."

Meth test

After completion of a basic course on responding to a methamphetamine lab, a person should be able to answer the following questions, the course's authors say:

Match one meth lab clue with the following lab types:

Lab Type Clues

Vehicles Burned trash piles

Portables Large plastic containers

Drop-off Covered windows

Rural cabin Leaf-covered jars

City basement Small coolers

Select the most appropriate communication method to contact law enforcement:

Phone at site

Cell phone

Pay phone

Neighbor's phone

Fire radio

EMS radio