The City of Highland Park Fire Department uses prevention, preparation, education, and ongoing training to provide an effective formula to control catastrophic releases of hazardous materials. The Fire Department has aggressively trained its personnel to the State certified level of Hazardous Materials Operations First Responder. Additionally, six fire fighters from the Highland Park Fire Department assigned to the MABAS Division III Hazardous Materials Response Team are State certified to the level of Hazardous Material Technicians. These Technicians, along with the Battalion Chiefs who are State certified to the Incident Command level, are capable of mitigating these undesired incidents.

Terrorism, Bio-Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction have been at the forefront of the MABAS Division III training and equipment purchases for several years now. (See "Mutual Aid" page) The Division team has acquired numerous meters and detection equipment for nerve agents, blister agents, biohazards and radiological isotopes. Division III Fire Departments have participated in training exercises with the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety. In step with Homeland Security directives the Division III Hazardous Materials Team has conducted joint training with all area Hospitals, including ENH Highland Park Hospital. MABAS Division III Hazardous Materials Response Team is at the forefront of the State's mutual aid hazardous response plan, and was a participant in the Federal "Topoff" (Top Officials) scenario.

Background
In 1970, the MABAS system was established to provide a swift, standardized and effective method of mutual aid assistance for extra alarm fires mass casualty incidents and other large emergencies. The MABAS system is divided into over 70 Divisions from throughout Illinois, and now extending into Wisconsin, Indiana, and Missouri.

About MABAS Division III
MABAS Division III includes the north shore communities bounded by Highland Park on the north, Evanston and Skokie on the south; Park Ridge, Des Plaines, and Prospect Heights on the west; and Lake Michigan on the East. Currently, eighteen north shore departments belong to MABAS Division III, providing service from 39 stations and over 900 firefighters.

The MABAS system allows departments to serve citizens in ways far beyond MABAS's original intent. MABAS Division III shares cost effective specialized teams for hazardous material spill control, underwater rescue and recovery and specialized confined space or high-angle rescues. Additional activities of MABAS Division III include cost saving joint purchasing between communities for fire trucks, engines, ambulances, tools, hose and equipment.

Many Division III communities utilize automatic first response where the closest station responds when an incident occurs. Such automatic aid responses ignore geo-political boundaries between communities in the best interest of citizen service and cost effectiveness.

MABAS Division III Hazardous Materials Response Team
The Division Team was established in mid 1980 to combat the jurisdiction's rapid growth in the number of incidents. The Team is comprised of approximately 50 fire fighters trained to control and minimize the potential catastrophic effects or threats to the health and safety of the public. This is accomplished by utilizing the resources of local, state and federal government agencies, as well as those in industry, depending on the magnitude, nature, and area threatened by any incident involving hazardous materials.