National Hazardous Materials Fusion Center

The National Hazmat Fusion Center will be a secure, web-based network to facilitate information sharing for first responders training for and responding to hazardous materials incidents. It will be the first such data center for the first responders’ community, but the effort to create it and its results will encompass a broader range of stakeholders. It will provide crucial knowledge for all decision makers on the transportation and delivery of hazardous materials.

• The National Hazmat Fusion Center will serve three purposes:

  1. Information collection, which will include:

  • Developing a central location for the collection of information on the nation’s hazmat teams (location, capabilities, equipment, etc.)
  • Creating a repository for hazmat incident reporting on a secure web portal and a toll-free phone number for incident reporting
  • Forming Regional Incident Survey Teams (RIST), which will be deployed to serious hazmat incidents to collect information on first-responder activity
  • Developing a method for increased communication and trust-building among the nation’s first-responder hazmat community
  • Incorporating information from various sources (utilizing the Enterprise Approach of the U.S. Department of Transportation), including federal agencies and the private sector

  
  2. Analysis of information collected, which will include:

  • Developing effective practices, planning tools and resources for first responders
  • Creating after-action reports from RIST-investigated hazmat incidents
  • Providing recommended requirements for equipment and training for hazmat teams
  • Identifying trends and patterns for the prevention and mitigation of hazmat incidents
  • Interpreting data to assist the development of high-tech hazmat response equipment and training
  • Ensuring that multi-agency reporting is streamlined so a redundant reporting system is not created

  
  3. Dissemination of information and analysis, which will include:

  • Recommendations for safely responding to hazmat incidents
  • Training materials for first responders (such as quarterly curriculum materials, training drills, conferences, and email blasts)
  • Identification of the most frequently shipped and most hazardous materials
  • Data-based recommendations to industry and transporters for improved safety of shipping containers and processes
  • Data for use inclusion in national-level decision-making processes

  
  For more information or to get involved, contact hazmatfusion@iafc.org.

Video Resources

Watch the National Hazardous Materials Fusion Center video via Windows Media Broadband.