State-of-the-art hazmat truck unveiled in St. Petersburg

The new vehicle replaces a hazmat truck that had been in service for more than 20 years.

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — St. Petersburg Fire Rescue has officially unveiled its newest piece of lifesaving equipment: a state-of-the-art hazardous materials response truck known as Hazmat 5. 

The new vehicle replaces a hazmat truck that had been in service for more than 20 years.

According to Brett Ciskoski, deputy chief of emergency services for St. Petersburg Fire Rescue, the high-tech vehicle has been in the design and build phase for the last four years.

“It’s got a command module inside,” Ciskoski said. “Responders can do research while en route to calls from a command center. We have the ability to look things up, conduct research, and manage entry, decontamination, and all aspects of a hazmat call directly from this vehicle.”

Hazmat 5 is also equipped with drone technology. 

“We do have the ability to tether our drones to monitors inside to do reconnaissance and then integrate with all of the other responding units,” he added.

Fire officials say the biggest benefit of Hazmat 5 is increased safety for responders.

“With the enhancements that this vehicle has, we can do research from a further location. We can put responders in a safer spot to analyze what’s going on the emergency and then react to it,” Ciskoski said.

Hazmat 5 is based out of the Master Fire Station Downtown, and it’s part of the Pinellas County Hazardous Materials Response Team.