EMS World Expo Preview: Hazardous Materials for EMS

In the weeks leading up to EMS World Expo—North America’s largest EMS-dedicated event—EMS World is spotlighting select preconference sessions to learn more from their featured speakers on what makes their presentations timely, informative, and worth attending. In this installment we speak with Ken Bouvier, NREMT-P, who will present Basic Hazardous Materials for EMS on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 in Orlando. Learn more and register at www.emsworldexpo.com.

Training for major hazardous-materials incidents is often deprioritized due to their low frequency. Chief Ken Bouvier, a longtime stalwart of New Orleans EMS and hazardous-materials officer for the Westwego, Louisiana Volunteer Fire Department, carries over 46 years of experience in fire and EMS and speaks passionately about the hazards of the job and how critical it is to be prepared as not only a first responder but as a department.

“Most emergency responders who have been injured or killed in the first 5 minutes after they arrived on scene were because they didn’t know what they were up against,” says Bouvier. Learning how to respond safely, ask for more information from dispatch, and just how important staging is are just a few of the topics he will address at EMS World Expo.

In addition Bouvier will focus on the different modes of transportation for hazardous chemicals and how they are moved across the world. He will also discuss the classifications of chemicals so his students have a better understanding of the types EMS providers typically respond to.

“Transportation emergencies are what we classify as high-risk and low-frequency. Every day in almost every city, there is some type of minor hazmat emergency, such as abandoned drums in a warehouse,” says Bouvier. He explains that secondary to the pandemic, many businesses closed down, including warehouses, and left waste behind, creating hazardous materials—a risk to anyone responding to its presence.

Data around hazardous risk and harm to first responders indicates that chemical exposures typically involve the front of the body, with injuries ranging from superficial burns and skin and eye irritations to more severe inhalation injuries. Even a minor exposure is serious and often requires immediate medical attention.

Bouvier is a familiar face at EMS conferences, and his students can always look forward to interesting, fun, and informative sessions. The New Orleans native has been on the job since he was 18. He has a unique approach and presentation style that keeps his audiences engaged, with plenty of case studies to work through. At a past preconference session, his classmates got a visit from the Austin Fire Department that let them don chemical suits and learn all about the different types. Bouvier believes this type of interactive and hands-on training is invaluable for health care providers who might not normally have access to it.

Transportation Emergencies

The main focus of this year’s precon workshop is transportation emergencies and whether your department is ready to handle one—they come without warning, consisting mostly of 18-wheeler, highway transportation, and train derailment incidents. Knowing how to respond safely and assist the fire department and protect and assist the community is an asset to these unique emergencies. Beyond the basics of understanding placards and the 9 classifications of chemicals, Bouvier will review world incidents and talk about preparation for similar events.

He explains that hazardous incidents happen all the time, but the major ones don’t happen too often. So if you end up responding and don’t have the training, there are lots of risks. Both private and municipal services respond to hazmat calls. When there is a need for mutual aid, it’s usually from a private company whose providers could end up in a hazmat emergency unprepared.

“One thing I’m going to show is that [EMS companies/services] need to have a hazmat plan. Without a plan you could be working off the cuff, which could be dangerous,” explains Bouvier. “We are going to talk about household emergencies as well: chemical misuse in the home, chemical burns in the home, plus industry burns. We will discuss treatment for chemical exposure at both the basic and advanced paramedic level.

“For hazmat, you need to slow down and not rush in,” he adds, “coupled with obtaining your information from dispatch and getting on a channel with police and fire to see if there is more information or directions on your approach.”

Alongside large-scale hazardous incident preparation and training, Bouvier will talk about terrorist attacks that utilize chemicals such as mustard gas and even the inconvenience of superglue mishaps. He will also debunk some common hazmat myths (ever hear of the one-thumb rule?).

Other topics to be touched upon include nuclear events, meth labs, chemical suicides, and even those crazy TikTok trends that have kids trying dangerous stunts at home with chemicals. Bouvier brings an entire career’s worth of experience on both the fire and EMS side and is a fan favorite wherever he speaks. He served as the EMS commander for many of New Orleans’ major events, including Mardi Gras and the 2002 and 2010 Super Bowls, and was responsible for commanding both New Orleans and mutual aid ambulances after Hurricane Katrina. He was also responsible for managing the EMS crews featured on the A&E television show Nightwatch.

Sign up for his precon workshop at https://emsworldexpo.com/rates.

Leah Sobon is a freelance writer and paramedic at the Region of Peel, Ontario, Canada.