Hazardous Materials

The Leawood Fire Department responds to all hazardous materials incidents in the City.  This includes incidents such as fluid leaking after a motor vehicle collision, natural gas leaks, containers leaking hazardous chemicals, or even threats that may be identified as weapons of mass destruction (WMD) incidents, such as chemical or biological agents.

All Leawood firefighters have been trained to the Operations level for hazardous materials incidents, which basically means they are trained to respond and recognize a hazardous material, evacuate the public, and take defensive steps to reduce or eliminate the hazard, but only if it can be safely done with basic firefighting gear and a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).  However, many substances we might encounter in today’s society will exceed our capabilities.  Scroll down to learn about specialized teams in the area.

Many of the hazardous materials that could be encountered require specialized Hazardous Materials Teams, with advanced training and equipment.  In Leawood, we are fortunate to have several Hazardous Materials Teams in surrounding jurisdictions throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area, that can respond to a hazardous materials incident if necessary.  The Overland Park Fire Department has the closest team and is also one of twelve regional Hazardous Materials Response Teams in the State of Kansas.  The Kansas City, Missouri Fire Department and the Olathe Fire Department also have Hazardous Materials Response Teams.  In addition, there are several private companies in the Kansas City metropolitan area that can respond to assist in controlling a hazardous materials incident, or assist with cleanup afterwards.

If you have any questions about our response to hazardous materials incidents in Leawood, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. Schedule a drop off or to find how to dispose of household waste items in Johnson County click here.