MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- The Iwakuni Fire Department has integrated a new tool that will help identify possible deadly substances in a expedient manner.
The new HazMat ID (hazardous material identifier) has an abundance of features that will help in identifying unknown substances at spill sites.
"The unit is the first one of its kind on the Station," said Andrew J. Saksa III, SensIR technologies customer training manger. "The HazMat ID has portability capabilities in the carry case and is easy to use. The unit is designed to be used in a hot zone and in fire fighting suit."
Fire Capt. Yoshiharu Tanimoto compared the old unit with the new one and favored the HazMat ID considerably.
"The identifier we had before took a long time to ID because substances required pretreatment and had to be categorized," said Tanimoto. "The new unit is easy to use with few steps. The material is simply placed on the diamond and the results come up quickly."
With quickly identifying unknown substances, potential danger sites can be identified right away and the proper procedures can be taken, said Saksa.
The portability and ease of the unit comes with other added benefits in order to ensure the safety of firefighters.
"The fact that we can use this unit with a laptop from a remote location is great," said Tanimoto.
"The unit has wireless capabilities," said Saksa.
"In a spill site the firefighter only has to put the substance on the diamond, and a laptop in a isolated location does everything else. A laptop can be used in a stress-free location to control the unit, so that proper steps are taken resulting in expedient and accurate results."
According to Saksa, even if the HazMat ID can't identify a substance, it is no problem.
If there is ever a question about any unidentified materials, an e-mail with the information can be sent to our company to identify the substance, said Saksa.