Policy Text
SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDERS
GO 532.03
Page 1 of 3
532.05
HAZARDOUS MATERIAL INCIDENTS
11-15-19
PURPOSE
The purpose of this order is to establish procedures to be followed when handling incidents involving hazardous
materials.
POLICY
It shall be the policy of the Sacramento Police Department (SPD) to work in a unified command with the
Sacramento Fire Department (SFD) during hazardous material incidents. A member of the SFD shall assume
responsibly for incident command for these events and when necessary SPD shall provide law enforcement staff
to support their operation.
PROCEDURE
A. DEFINITIONS
Levels of Hazardous Materials
1. Level I Incidents are:
a. spills, leaks, ruptures, and/or fires involving hazardous materials which can
be contained, extinguished, and/or abated utilizing equipment, supplies, and
resources immediately available to first responders of the SFD; and/or
b. incidents which require evacuation of civilians within any area of the
SFD's jurisdiction.
2. Level II Incidents are:
a. hazardous materials which can be contained, extinguished, and/or
abated utilizing the resources of the SFD Hazardous Materials Response
Team (HAZMAT); and/or
b. incidents which require evacuation of civilians within any area of the
SFD's jurisdiction; and/or
c. fires involving hazardous materials that are permitted to burn for a
controlled period of time or are allowed to consume themselves ; and/or
d. any incident resulting in any injury to a person as a direct result of a
hazardous material.
3. Level III Incidents are:
a. spills, leaks, and/or ruptures which can be contained and/or abated utilizing
the highly specialized equipment and supplies available to environmental or
industrial response personnel; and/or
b. incidents which require two or more HAZMATs; and/o r
c. fires involving hazardous materials that are allowed to burn due to:
(1) ineffectiveness or danger from the use of extinguishing agents.
(2) the unavailability of water.
(3) a threat of large container failure.
(4) an explosion, detonation, or actual container failure.
d. incidents which:
(1) require evacuation of civilians extending across jurisdictional
boundaries.
(2) involve serious civilian injuries or deaths as a result of the
hazardous materials.
(3) require a multi- agency response.
SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDERS
GO 532.03
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4. Incident Commander: Command level personnel responsible for the overall
management of an incident.
5. Unified Command: An application of Incident Command Structure (ICS) used when
there is more than one agency with incident jurisdiction or when incidents cross
political jurisdictions. Agencies work together through the designated members of
the Unified Command to establish their designated Incident Commanders at a
single Incident Command Post and to establish a common set of objectives and
strategies and a single Incident Action Plan.
B. GENERAL
1. Under an agreement pursuant to Section 2454 of the California Vehicle Code, the
Police Department (SPD) has transferred Incident Commander (IC) responsibility of
hazardous material incidents to the SFD for "on road" and "on highway" incidents.
C. RESPONSIBILITY
SFD and SPD will have a Unified Command and a member of SFD shall assume the
role of the overall Incident Commander.
The SFD IC will coordinate with the Watch Commander/IC to address any necessary
evacuations, crowd control, traffic control, relocation, and scene security. If a
command post is established, the Watch Commander or their designee shall assign a
liaison officer. If the SPD Mobile Incident Command Post is deployed to the scene, it
should be located within proximity of the SFD command post.
The SFD has responsibility for the identification, handling, and m itigation of all found
hazardous materials, except for items to be seized as evidence, pyrotechnics, and
explosives. SPD shall only be responsible for hazardous materials when a clandestine
laboratory is found.
1. Upon confirmation of a hazardous material incident, SPD shall place its field
resources at the command of the SFD IC.
a. All safety requirements affecting both civilians and first responder personnel
will be established by the SFD IC.
b. During Level II and III hazardous materials in cidents the Watch Commander
shall coordinate the deployment of essential law enforcement resources with
the SFD IC.
c. The Watch Commander or their designee shall keep the SPD
Communications Center informed of relevant information pertinent to the
incident.
2. When a hazardous materials incident is reported to SPD , the SPD dispatcher shall
immediately request the SFD. Based on available information, Fire dispatch will
determine when to alert their HAZMAT.
3. Police personnel at the scene shall:
a. establish a perimeter and gather pertinent information to communicate to
SFD.
b. take precautionary security measures at the scene and coordinate
with SFD.
4. The first fire unit to arrive at the scene will:
a. identify the type of material involved.
SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDERS
GO 532.03
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b. determine the quantity of material involved.
c. consider the possibility of contamination.
d. identify any