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# SMFD ready and willing with new truck
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/smfd-ready-and-willing-with-new-truck/
- Published: 2005-03-24T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T06:23:14.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: local, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Eye in the sky: Haz mat vehicle has camera to see over buildings*

*By KIM CALVERT Special to the Daily Press*

CITY HALL — The Santa Monica Fire Department will get a new hazardous materials response vehicle — worth almost $500,000 — thanks to a grant program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“We’ve had to expand our role so we can respond to chemical, radiological, biological and nuclear acts of terrorism,” said Santa Monica Fire Department Chief Jim Hone.

According to Hone, the grant for the truck comes from the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), which provides funding so cities can reduce their vulnerability to acts of terrorism caused by weapons of mass destruction.

The new haz mat vehicle will be manned by specially trained fire department staff, who in addition to being able to respond to acts of terrorism, answer calls for chemical spills, gas leaks and incidents that involve dangerous materials, Hone said.

An example of a haz mat team response occurred in March 2003 when a Santa Monica furniture stripping company, Stripper Herk, illegally discharged methylene chloride into the city’s sewer, nearly resulting in the death of a sewer worker. Hone said the haz mat team was able to decontaminate and provide emergency care to the victim, who had third-degree burns over 60 percent of his body and was in full cardiac arrest.

The new haz mat vehicle, manufactured by SVI Trucks in Loveland, Colo., has some unique features, according to the company’s sales representative, Bob Sorensen, like a 42-foot retractable mast with a video camera.

“The camera will allow fire department personnel to see over buildings and evaluate dangerous situations,” Sorensen said. “It will also record what’s happening on to DVD for training purposes.”

The state-of-the-art truck also will allow fire department personnel to set up a command resource area, test and contain hazardous materials, as well as communicate with other emergency response units via a laptop computer. “It even has a bathroom,” Sorensen said, noting an important feature during long-term deployment.

The new haz mat vehicle is the second major piece of equipment ordered for the fire department in as many months.

In February, the City Council approved the emergency purchase of an $800,000 ladder truck. The truck became a priority purchase when one of the department’s two ladder trucks failed to pass a regularly scheduled inspection and certification test. The de-certification left the department with just one truck capable of performing the type of efforts needed to fight fires and perform rescues in multi-storied buildings.

In both cases, fire department officials said existing equipment was no longer functional and needed to be replaced. Both pieces of equipment are expected to be available in approximately one year, Hone said.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/032405-03_01.jpg)

fire department’s newest edition bolsters the city’s ability to respond to various acts of terrorism. (Photo: Photo courtesy The)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 24, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/032405.pdf?ref=smdp.com)