Hazmat clean-up should be performed by qualified contractors

get paid just the same. First responders on-scene should never commit public dollars for cleanup operations. That responsibility rests with someone higher up in the chain of command within local or state government.

Contractor response time.

The response time for a contractor is the time required to assemble sufficient personnel and equipment resources at the incident site. Unfortunately, when asked about their response time, representatives of some contracting companies may unintentionally provide misleading answers. For example, when a contractor says its personnel can respond within one hour, first responders at the scene may breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the incident will soon be over and everyone can go home. Sometimes, however, the only person who shows up within the hour is a field scout who is there merely to determine what he will need to get the job done. When you express your frustrations about the delay, the contractor promptly reminds you that he did not lie; he was there within one hour. You just assumed he meant that he would be ready to go to work in one hour. Therefore, when you ask for a “response” time, make sure you are clear in stating that what you really want to know is a “ready-to-go-to-work” time.

Avoid negligent hiring of a contractor.

According to generally accepted legal practices regarding contractors, someone who employs a contractor is not liable for injuries to third parties resulting from negligence on the part of the contractor. However, there have been situations when an individual or entity was found liable for “negligent hiring” of a contractor by reason of failure to fully investigate the contractor’s reputation or experience. The need to conduct this investigation is especially important when dealing with the cleanup of extremely dangerous chemicals such as explosives, oxidizers, poisons, and radioactive materials.

Some first responders will claim that because most times the responsible party in control of the spilled material is the one who hires the contractor, any liability for “negligent hiring” will always rest with the responsible party. Although this may be true in most circumstances, first responders could still be found to have some legal obligation to stop any actions they observe on the part of the contractor that could constitute a safety risk. Of course, you may not know what hazards to look for, especially when dealing with removal of exotic chemicals, but this just reinforces the need to know more