The choice of firefighters and other rapid response personnel for years, this user-friendly manual helps first responders build their skills step-by-step to professionally handle any hazmat emergency. Organized to enhance understanding and retention–and reinforced with copious illustrations, photographs, learning exercises, and case studies–this book takes the reader from preplanning to dispatch to the stabilization of an incident, and on to post-incident critique and follow-up.

The new edition addresses advances in protective clothing, new products for confinement and containment, and changes in the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard, plus much more. Additional chapters cover WMDs, with sections specific to WMD response including site control, personal protective equipment, and decontamination.