Fort Worth, Texas Department Believes Chemical-Agent Detectors Will Aid Response to Attacks

Fort Worth Battalion Chief Wendell Lancaster shows one of the Fire Department's chemical-agent detectors. Within 30 seconds, the detectors could identify various chemical agents.

If terrorists attack a public event in Fort Worth with chemical agents, a small green box could hold a key to saving lives.

The box, a hand-held chemical agent detector called ChemSentry, would tell emergency officials in seconds what the chemical agents were and how deadly they could be.

Officials say the military-grade technology will help them respond as quickly as any city in the country.

"We would need to know immediately what we are dealing with, whether it's a nerve or a blood or a blister agent," Battalion Chief Wendell Lancaster said. "This should tell us in 20 to 25 seconds."

This summer, Fort Worth and Bedford were two of the first cities to buy the detectors, which were developed by a Defense Department contractor in Austin.

Other cities have chemical-agent detectors, but they are using older, less reliable models, said Bedford Battalion Chief Mark Johnson, who researched the equipment. Large cities began buying what was available after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Last month, Fort Worth bought three units for $45,000 with grants from the Justice and Homeland Security departments. Bedford bought one, also through a grant.

The device was developed under military specifications, said Mike Segars, vice president at Concept Controls, the detectors' Fort Worth-based distributor.

After 9-11, the Defense Department and State Department declassified the equipment so that first responders could use it, he said.

Within 30 seconds, the detectors can identify nerve, blister and blood agents and determine how concentrated they are, he said. That allows responders to decide quickly how to react.

"It benefits us because it allows us to know what kind of an atmosphere we are entering," Bedford Battalion Chief James Richardson said. "Instead of not knowing what we are dealing with, it gives us very important information."

The detectors are light and about the size of a paperback novel. On one side is a digital readout screen with four large buttons.

Its simplicity is one of its best features, Lancaster said.

Firefighters have had chemical-agent detectors since 1998, but they are bulkier, more complicated and less effective, he said. They have to be calibrated before each use.

"It was a lot slower," he said. "It could take up to five minutes to detect something, whereas now we can get it in half a minute."

Early detection improves reaction times, making it easier for emergency workers to determine how big an area to evacuate and what kinds of antidotes to provide, according to the Homeland Security Department.

The old detectors also frequently had false positives, he said. For instance, they were activated by ubiquitous exhaust fumes from diesel fuel, which powers fire engines.

Firefighters will use the detectors when responding to calls and at large public events such as Texas Motor Speedway races, Lancaster said.

While the detectors' main purpose is to guard against a terrorist attack, forthcoming modifications will allow them to detect industrial chemicals in factory or warehouse fires, he said.

Segars said that is probably 12 to 18 months away.

Johnson said the devices may eventually be used to detect chemicals used in meth labs.

"There are a lot of different things we can do with it," he said. "It's a really good tool to protect citizens and make our job safer."