Connecticut State Commission on Fire Prevention and Control

As we continue to move to a more online registration and record-keeping system, we are providing you with directions on common areas that you need to be familiar with:  Creating an Account, Registering for a Class, Registering for a Certification Exam, and Other important functions. For a listing of each of these functions click below    

     CFA Acadis Online Information

2004 Emergency Response Guidebook Update

Office of State Fire Marshal

The Office Of State Fire Marshal has received our allotment of 2004 Emergency Response Guide Books from the US Department of Transportation. As we told you early in 2004, the number of books published by the US DOT was reduced from 2.7 million in 2000 to 2.2 million in 2004. In 2000 we received 31,000 copies of the ERG books. Although this year we requested 34,000 copies, our allotment was only 22,000 books – a reduction of 30%. Because of this reduction, the requests for copies submitted to our office far exceeds the amount of books we received. As a result of this reduction in Connecticut allotment, we have begun to scrutinize the requests for quantities and any duplication and may be asking for an explanation for requests that appear to be out of line.

As a reminder, the primary objective of the US DOT is to place one copy of the ERG2004 in each emergency service vehicle. We recommend placing two copies of the ERG2004 in each piece of fire apparatus, rescue vehicles and EMS emergency vehicles as most agencies’ SOP is to have two persons reading an ERG to ensure accuracy. Where a senior fire or EMS officer responds in a private vehicle, they too should be provided with a copy. Because local police officers often share vehicles, each officer should receive a copy for their duty briefcase. With respect to OEM agencies, they should be limited to 5 books as most do not have emergency service vehicles.

It is not the intent of this program to provide a copy of the ERG2004 to each first responder.

With respect to books used for training, we suggest the books be clearly marked and numbered for continued use. Just because some one completes a HAZMAT Awareness or Operations class does not mean they or their non-emergency service vehicle receives an ERG. Also, there are very few changes with respect to layout and general content between the 2000 and 2004 versions, thus the old books are still useful to serve as training aids.

If your request has been reduced and after re-evaluation of your distribution, you feel you still need more books, please contact John Doucette in our Bureau of Engineering at 860-685-8350 or by E-Mail at john.doucette@po.state.ct.us. Additional copies of the ERG2004 will be available for purchase from the US Government Printing Office. (see http://hazmat.dot.gov)