About Our Organization

At the end of the 80’s, there were a few emergency responses that occurred around the Fairbanks North Star Borough. These incidents drove the local emergency response community to recognize the need of a more advanced capability within the Borough. The HazMat Team was originally formed through the Local Emergency Planning Commission (LEPC) with support of the Fairbanks Fire Department and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The Team responded with a 1986 “bread” van and a military surplus trailer on loan from the Fairbanks Fire Department. The equipment was housed in the Fairbanks Fire Department Station #3.

In 1997, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) realized a need for Level A hazmat capabilities around the State. ADEC approached the Borough about signing a Memorandum of Understanding for Level A HazMat Response. The FNSB HMRT was the first to sign the MOU. The Municipality of Anchorage signed a few months later. The State teams have developed strong working relationships through joint training and exercising a few times a year. ADEC funded the purchase of a new response vehicle and some needed equipment. ADEC continues to provide funding annually to help support the FNSB HMRT. Their funding allows the Team to purchase annual consumables, fund PPE purchases, and allows our members to attend training opportunities and the Statewide HazMat Working Group meetings.

After Sept 11th, additional funding became available to purchase updated equipment that allowed for additional capabilities and responder safety. The FNSB HMRT participated in the Grant Appropriation Committee as a committee member, working with other committee members on the distribution of the grants. During this time, a number of other Statewide Teams were formed. The City of Valdez formed a team for a few years, but has since backed out of the Statewide Response Team. The cities of Juneau, Ketchikan, and Kodiak have all formed small Level A Teams that would primarily respond to incidents within their own geographical response area.

The FNSB HMRT takes pride in being one of, or maybe the only ALL VOLUNTEER HazMat Response Team in the nation. None of our members are paid by the Team. Rather, they are made up from a wide range of specialties which we believe allows us to truly provide a "Best In Class" service. Our members come from a very broad spectrum of experiences that include the military, college students, industrial professionals (transportation, mining, refinery, railroad, etc.), firefighters, medics, chemists, stay at home parents, government employees, etc.