Firefighters in Sudbury, Ontario were trapped in their gear for a couple of hours while the fire department searched for a contractor to decontaminate their gear. The firefighters had been exposed to asbestos during the fire, and it had to be vacuumed from their gear before they removed it to prevent them from breathing asbestos-contaminated air. Although the Greater Sudbury Fire Department established a hazardous materials (HAZMAT) program in late 2005, it was not prepared to safely remove asbestos from the firefighting gear. Funding for the HAZMAT program expired in February, so while the department has HAZMAT equipment available, there are no funds left to train the firefighters to use it.
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