The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office Hazardous Materials Emergency Response team was established in 1988 in cooperation with the Ascension Parish Chemical Industry Community Awareness Emergency Response effort (CAER). The team was developed with the purpose of responding to hazardous materials releases with a well equipped team with advanced training to protect life, property, and the environment. Team members are trained to directly intervene at the release of a hazardous material for rescue of contaminated individuals and to contain or otherwise control the negative effects of a release.

 

The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office recognizes the fact that the actual response to hazardous material incidents fall under the scope of the Louisiana State Police and the local fire service(s). It is not the intention of the Sheriff’s Office to take away any responsibilities of the local fire departments or the State Police. The intention, rather, is to offer a trained, professionally equipped division of the Sheriff’s Office as an additional resource to mitigate the incident.

 

The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office Haz-Mat Team would fall under the authority and direction of Fire Chief or Incident Commander experiencing the hazardous materials incident. If the Fire Chief or Incident Commander requested the Haz-Mat Team to assume command then they would do so and operate under the Incident Command Structure.

 

The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office Haz-Mat Team members are on-call 24 hours a day.

 

Their response is basically limited to the five modes of transportation involving hazardous materials.

 

These five modes are highway, pipeline, rail, water and air. In the event a fixed site facility experiences a release or emergency involving hazardous materials that is beyond their scope of response, a request for the Sheriff’s Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Team may be made.

 

The response to a fixed site facility must be authorized by the Sheriff, the Chief Criminal Deputy or the Lt. Colonel prior to the deployment of this team.

 

The Haz-Mat Team is under the direction of Capt. Mike Scott and Lt. Cody Melacon.

 

 

Lt. Nicky Prejean HM 1 Dy Darnell Martinez HM 2 Dy Stephen Villar HM 3 Sgt. Alvin Ruiz HM 4 Sgt. Daryl Waguespack HM 5 Dy Mike Doring HM 6 Dy Paul Holden HM 7 Dy Donovan Waguespack HM 8     Deputy Charles Babin HM 10 Deputy Bert Prejean HM 12

Deputy Dennis Hutchinson HM 14 Deputy Don Hack HM 15 Deputy Travis Cedotal HM 16 Deputy Cleve Melancon HM 18 Deputy Ruddy Graffeo HM 19 Deputy Danny Thibodeaux HM 20   Deputy Bobby Raburn HM 22 Deputy James LeBlanc HM 23