Another radio channel that could come into play during haz mats is 155.265 (simplex only). That may be used by entry teams.
When Jefferson County EMS and Louisville Fire and Rescue's EMS became Louisville Metro EMS, then Jefferson County EMS stopped being the haz mat team for the county (outside of the former Louisville city limits).
That was when the suburban fire districts developed their own haz mat team. This haz mat team is modeled after the trench rescue team, and the swift water rescue team. It is composed just as stated above - members from all departments coming together to form the team when haz mat incidents occur and the fire department having jurisdiction requests their assistance. There is also work in progress toward setting up a collapse and high angle rescue teams.
Pretty much all Louisville Metro EMS does on haz mats is medical surveillance for the entry teams, and standby for transport if necessary.
When it was going, the Jefferson County EMS haz mat team was quite capable, well equipped and well trained. It was felt that after the merger, retaining the haz mat component would drain a system that is pretty demanding with just EMS work.
