In 1978 Nashville Fire Department (NFD) formed their hazardous materials team and started training under the direction of Dr. Woods, Dr. Kramer and Captain Harry White (Retired NFD Deputy Fire Chief). This was the FIRST HAZMAT course developed of its kind and now taught throughout the world with the same general tools and techniques developed by the NFD. Nashville was operational in April of 1979 as a regional response team. Nashville, Jacksonville (FL), and Houston (TX) all formed their teams around the same time becoming the first in the country. Hazardous Material Technicians in the Nashville Fire Department are trained at the minimum of an 80-hour HMTO course. Team members are required to have 40 hours of annual in service/refresher training. Most team members have attended outside training at the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Anniston, Alabama, Department of Energy (DOE) TEPP (Transportation Emergency Preparedness Program) and NFPA Radiation Specialist training, Bomb and Explosives Training in New Mexico, ACBIRC training at Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah and Radiological Training in Nevada. NFD trains regularly with Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, FBI Technical Hazards Response Unit and members of their JTTF/WMD personnel along with the 45th Civil Support Team which provide Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) training and support for the hazmat team.
The Nashville Fire Department was awarded Type I accreditation for CBRNE/WMD/HAZMAT team in 2023. Nashville Fire Department from direction by Special Operations, Station 12 and 13 (Hazmat Companies) continue to push the boundaries in training, tactics, and development of strategies for all things CBRNE/WMD/HAZMAT.
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