Pubdate: Wed, 08 Jun 2005
Source: News-Press (FL)
Copyright: 2005 The News-Press
Contact:  http://www.news-press.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1133
Author: Paul Flemming, News-Press Tallahassee Bureau
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

PROGRAM TO HELP FIREFIGHTERS HANDLE METH LABS MORE SAFELY

TALLAHASSEE -- More meth labs are being discovered and seized in
Florida, and with them comes increased danger to law enforcement and
first responders who encounter the volatile, sometimes booby-trapped
rigs.

Florida's State Fire Marshal this month will start training first
responders on how to protect themselves. More than 150 firefighters
have signed up.

Tom Gallagher, the state's chief financial officer, oversees the
marshal's office and said the danger associated with illegal
methamphetamine production requires efforts to protect officials and
the public.

"Meth makers are domestic terrorists, no doubt about it," Gallagher
said, likening the illegal labs to "chemical time bombs" that have
resulted in 29 fires or explosions in the state.

Jeff Land, chief of the East Milton Volunteer Fire Department, would
welcome the training. His department recently was called by the Santa
Rosa County Sheriff's Office, serving a warrant at a house.

There was a meth lab. The volunteer fire department didn't have the
equipment or training to act.

"We put air packs on and secured the area," Land said. "Then we let
the sheriff's office deal with it. We're just there in case something
happens."

A deputy trained to handle meth labs got it under control.

"If we can get that training in our neck of the woods, I'd sure be
interested," Land said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration says 332 meth labs were seized in
Florida last year compared with 28 in 2001. Nearly 1,800 first
responders in 16 states, including Florida, have been injured by meth
labs in the four years before June 2004.

The training piggybacks on legislation passed this session and signed
into law last week by Gov. Jeb Bush. Sponsored by Rep. Greg Evers, R-
Baker, and Sen. Durrell Peaden, R-Crestview, the law restricts the
sales of over-the-counter products that contain methamphetamine makings.

The law also provides for stiffer penalties when meth production
injures or kills children or law enforcement officers. Not including
such protections for firefighters and other emergency responders was
an oversight, Evers said, that he hopes to fix.

"This legislation is like the tip of the iceberg," Evers said. "We've
only just begun."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin