Rapid City is the second-largest city in South Dakota, with more than 69,000 residents. In addition to the resident population, Rapid City is also a major tourist destination with tens of thousands of people visiting during the tourist season. The city, known as the "Gateway to the Black Hills" and "Star of the West," is nestled on the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range, home of Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Monument and Black Hills Gold. Rapid City is also home to Ellsworth Air Force Base, which was home to B-17, B-25, B-29 and B-52 bombers and numerous missiles during the Cold War. Ellsworth is presently home to the 28th Bomb Wing and the B-1B Lancer aircraft. Carrying the largest payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory, the multi-mission B-1 is the backbone of America's long-range bomber force.
Rapid City sits at an elevation of 3,202 feet in the shadow of Harney Peak, which at 7,242 feet is the highest point east of the Rocky Mountains. Rapid City enjoys an unexpected climate free of the icy blizzards and scorching summers typical of much of the rest of the Dakotas. Summers are warm, but dry and autumn is noted for its delightful "Indian summer" weather. Mild, sunny days are common throughout the winter and "Chinook" or warm winds frequently follow a stint of snowy weather. Snowfall is normally light with the greatest monthly average less than eight inches. Spring is characterized by wide variations in temperature and occasionally some wet snowfall. Low humidity levels, infrequent precipitation, and northwesterly winds prevail in the city.
Organized fire protection began in Rapid City in March 1886, when 56 volunteers formed Rapid City Hose Company 1. With hose carts and a hook-and-ladder, the group was amply prepared to protect the town's 400 residents. In 1915, the city's first fire station was built at 610 Main St. and remained in service until 1975. In 1948, the Rapid City Fire Department was changed from a volunteer organization to a fully paid department with 14 firefighters. A flash flood that inundated the city on the night of June 9, 1972, claimed the lives of 238 people, including three firefighters.
The post-flood period was a time of growth and renewal for the city and the fire department, with a new headquarters station being built in 1975, as well as an increase to five substations. A sixth substation opened in January 2003. The opening of the new Station 6, off Highway 16, added 12 firefighters to the department and provided a new home for the hazardous materials team.
Today's modern Rapid City Fire Department consists of 135 personnel under the leadership of Chief Mark Rohlfing. Crews operate out of seven fire stations with seven front-line engine companies (two in reserve), two ladder trucks, one rescue, the hazmat unit, five brush trucks, two crash/rescue trucks at the regional airport and 12 support vehicles, including a cascade system provided by the county. The fire department response area is 51.01 square miles. On March 1, 2003, the Rapid City Fire Department began providing advanced life support (ALS) emergency medical service to Rapid City and Pennington County and currently operates nine ambulances that cover 3,200 square miles. In 2007, the department responded to 12,119 calls for service. EMS accounted for 9,364 responses, or approximately 77%, of that call volume.
Rapid City and Pennington County formed their hazardous materials team as a joint venture in 1987 in response to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA), also known as Sara Title III. Their first hazmat unit (still in service today) was a 1989 Central States Fire International (Crimson). Initially, members found that they had too much equipment for one unit, so the team was split-up into separate decontamination and hazmat teams. The hazmat unit is housed in Station 6 at 1930 Promise Road off of Highway 16 in South Rapid City.
Station 4 houses the decontamination unit and is at 700 East Fairmont Blvd., also in South Rapid City. Station 6 personnel operate the hazmat unit and Station 4 personnel are trained to the operations level and conduct decontamination operations. All other firefighters on the department are trained to the operations level as well.
Captain Dan Goodart is the only original member still active on the hazmat team. Rapid City's hazmat team responds to an average of 30 hazmat incidents per year, not counting transportation fuel spills. Engine companies carry absorbent materials for use on fuel spills of five gallons or less. Spills of greater volume result in the dispatch of the hazmat unit.
One of four state-designated hazardous materials response teams, the Rapid City hazmat team covers the western half of South Dakota west of the Missouri River, which also includes the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Indian Reservations. Mutual aid is available from Ellsworth Air Force Base on the northeast side of Rapid City and the 82nd WMD-CST South Dakota National Guard Civil Support Team based in Rapid City.
The team also provides hazmat response services to the state capital, Pierre, which is served by an all-volunteer fire department led by a paid fire chief. Pierre has a population of 13,876, making it the second-least-populated state capital after Montpelier, VT. Pierre is 170 miles northeast of Rapid City at the geographical center of the state. The South Dakota National Guard provides air transport of the Rapid City hazmat team to Pierre where they have staged equipment to deal with a hazardous materials emergency. In 2003, homeland security grant funds were used to provide a cache of equipment for the Pierre Fire Department, whose members were trained to assist Rapid City hazmat technicians when they respond to incidents in Pierre. Since then, the four-team network was set up for hazmat coverage throughout the state. Teams are based in Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Aberdeen and Watertown.
Rapid City's hazmat unit occupies quarters at Station 6 with Engine 6, Medic 6 and a rural engine. The hazmat unit is not dedicated; when a hazmat call is dispatched, personnel from Station 6 respond with the hazmat unit. The department has 25 trained hazmat technicians with six on duty per shift. Firefighters in Rapid City work a 24-hours-on/48-hours-off shift schedule. Firefighters are sent to the Pueblo, CO, 80-hour basic hazmat technician course. They also receive advanced training at Pueblo and attend the National Fire Academy Chemistry and Operating Site Practices classes. Monthly in-service training is held in house for team members.
Equipment carried on the Rapid City hazmat unit includes MSA 4,500-psi/60-minute self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for respiratory protection (firefighters utilize MSA 30-minute SCBA). Level A chemical protection is provided by DuPont Tychem TK Commander suits and DuPont CPF4 encapsulated suits for Level B. DuPont Tychem Thermopro flash-protection suits are available for use in potentially flammable atmospheres. Motorola Clear Command Bone Mikes are used for in-suit communications. Monitoring equipment for hazardous materials includes a Travel IR hazmat chemical identifier, Orion multi-gas detector, Sirius Multigas Plus PID detector and MiniRAE 2000 photo ionization detector. Instruments that could be used against weapons of mass destruction (WMD) include APD 2000, Prime Alert biodetection/threat verification system, Ludlum 2241-2 radiation detectors, personal dosimeters, Draeger Civil Defense System, Draeger chip meter system, M8 and M9 paper, and M256A1 detection sampler. The unit also carries a Search Cam Entrylink Wireless Video System, Airshelter inflatable decon tents and Airshelter dress-out tent.
Information on hazardous materials carried on the hazmat unit includes both computer-based and hard-copy resources. Computer-based resources include CAMEO, WISER, ChemKnowledge System, TOMES System and Chemical Reactivity Worksheet. Hard-copy resources include CHRIS Manuals, Jane's Chemical Biological Handbook, NIOSH Pocket Guide, Hawley Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Emergency Response to Terrorism Job Aid, Medical Management of Chemical, Radiological and Biological Casualties handbooks, and others.
Hazmat highway transportation exposures in the Rapid City area include Interstate 90, a major east-west transportation corridor across the United States, and State Highway 79. The Burlington Northern/Santa Fe, CNX and DM&E railroads transport hazardous materials through Rapid City. Several natural gas and petroleum pipelines also service the area.
Fixed facilities in or near Rapid City use or store hazardous materials that include petroleum tank farms, propane, anhydrous ammonia, chlorine, cyanide and hydrochloric acid. The most common local hazmat problem involves hydrocarbon fuels. Mining is one of South Dakota's leading industries with an annual production of $254 million. There are 285 active mines in the state, most of which utilize hazardous materials in their operations. These hazardous materials are shipped and stored on site at the mines. Gold, silver, iron ore and cement are among the leading materials mined in the state.
Cyanide is used in gold mining operations and is shipped throughout the state. Major incidents handled by the Rapid City Hazmat Team have included a propane tanker rollover in Hill City, methyl lithium and picric acid incidents at the South Dakota School of Mines, and a cyanide truck rollover.
For additional information or questions, contact Captain Dan Goodart at [email protected].
ROBERT BURKE, a Firehouse® contributing editor, is the fire marshal for the University of Maryland Baltimore. He is a Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFSP), Fire Inspector II, Fire Inspector III, Fire Investigator and Hazardous Materials Specialist, and has served on state and county hazardous materials response teams. Burke is an adjunct instructor at the National Fire Academy and the Community College of Baltimore, Catonsville Campus, and the author of the textbooks Hazardous Materials Chemistry for Emergency Responders and Counter-Terrorism for Emergency Responders. He can be contacted at [email protected].
