All Hazards – Spokane Valley Fire Department

SVFD IS AN ALL HAZARDS AGENCY

We have the ability to respond to all hazards within our service area. This includes hazardous material responses (HAZMAT) and motor vehicle accidents (MVA). With Interstate 90 running through our service area and a number of factories and warehouses nearby, HAZMAT incidents and MVAs are an area of concern for us. These hazards accounted for roughly 6.5% of our call volume in 2022. Therefore, all of our firefighters are trained to be proficient in handling these types of emergencies.

HAZMAT

Hazardous materials incidents may include spilled fluids, unusual odors and/or carbon monoxide (CO) detector alarms. Responding apparatus carry absorbent to cover spills and equipment to detect CO gas. A large percentage of our hazardous materials responses involve ruptured natural gas lines. Natural gas lines are located throughout our response area and are often dug up and damaged by residential property owners while building fences or doing other home improvement projects. Large scale hazardous materials incidents typically involve several public agencies as well as private clean up contractors.

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MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS

Spokane Valley Fire Department crews respond to many types of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) within our service area. These accidents occur on city streets, rural roads, state highways (SR 27 – Pines Rd; SR 290 – Trent) and I-90. They often involve one or more motor vehicles; sometimes motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians, too. When someone is trapped in a vehicle, an “extrication” response results in specially-trained firefighters called to the scene, using tools and techniques to safely remove the trapped individual(s). When passing a car collision, please SLOW DOWN and BE AWARE that the traffic ahead of you may stop suddenly. There are many subsequent collisions caused by drivers watching the firefighters instead of the road and vehicles ahead of them!

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