|  Brighton’s
Haz-Mat (Hazardous Materials) division was officially formed
in the fall of 1984 and is one of the oldest Haz-Mat teams
in Erie County. Brighton Haz-Mat group consists of a specialized
team of trained individuals dedicated to the emergency handling
of unknown hazardous substances (chemical or biological)
primarily within the Tonawandas/Northern Erie county area.
Mutual aid for HAZ-MAT incidents are provided for the city of Tonawanda, Grand Island and parts
of the town of Amherst, including the U.B. campus.
Incidents that are encountered range
from small gasoline leaks that can last from a few minutes
to full-fledged industrial chemical or biological situations
that may last several hours or longer. Some examples Brighton
Haz-Mat responds to:
- Basic Monitoring
- Industrial spills
- Hazardous (chemical) incidents
related to truck or rail transports
- Accidental chemical releases into
the atmosphere
- Biological/Chemical-terrorist
incidents (Weapons of Mass Destruction).
In larger incidents: for manpower,
redundancy and analysis purposes multiple Haz-Mat units are
summoned to create one cohesive Haz-Mat entity. Brighton
will usually collaborate with the
highly trained and respected Haz-Mat team from the Clarence
Fire District, from the town of Clarence. 
HAMER 7 (Hazard Materials Emergency
Response) is Brighton’s mobile command post unit equipped
with air/chemical & bio-terrorism detection instruments,
a full weather station & CAMEO (Computer Aided Management
of Emergency Operations). HAMER 7 is ready to respond &
mitigate Haz-Mat emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
365 days a year.
Annually, Brighton Haz-Mat mitigates
dozens of incidents within the local area ensuring the safety,
well being of the community and preservation of the environment.
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