• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Agriculture / Firefighters are a key part of the bird flu clean up process

Firefighters are a key part of the bird flu clean up process

June 15, 2015 By Radio Iowa Contributor

Cleaning a truck used to haul away dead birds.

Cleaning a truck used to haul away dead birds.

The state activated a Hazardous Materials Task Force to help poultry facilities hit by the bird flu. The task force includes firefighters from Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Muscatine and Sioux City.

Sioux City Assistant Fire Chief, Jim Clark, says the firefighters will first deal with the vehicles that’re are taking away the millions of dead birds.

“Making sure that all of the trucks leaving with the roll-offs from the different facilities are properly decontaminated. The biggest fear is that this avian flu spreads, and so we’re trying to contain that,” Clark says.

He says they also have to inspect the roll-off containers and the bags containing the dead birds. “Their job is to make sure that the bags are not leaking — or that they are not swelled up — so that when they get moved off the site they don’t have any problems with the bags being compromised,” Clark says.

Clark says the firefighters who are trained in handling hazardous materials are both teaching and learning as they work at these facilities.

“The U.S.D.A. that’s in charge of the operations is looking to the HAZMAT team members for expertise as far as decontamination,” Clark says. “They know about the animals. They’re learning from use about decontamination, and we are learning from them about the animals and the other parts of the process.”

Clark says a total of 11 Sioux City firefighters have seen duty at poultry farms and landfills as part of Iowa’s Hazardous Materials Task Force.

(Reporting by Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City/U.S.D.A. photo)

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Agriculture, Fires/Accidents/Disasters, News, Outdoors

Featured Stories

ISU research finds health benefits for chickens watching virtual reality

Fish kill at Storm Lake linked to virus that impacts only carp

Final employee who was there at the launch of the Iowa Lottery to retire

No more USPS mail in Iowa prisons; inmates to get copies of mail

State officials warn of influx of fake prescription drugs laced with fentanyl

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

UNI volleyball motivated to bounce back

Iowa’s DeJean a factor in a number of spots

Grinnell College football looks for more progress in rebuild

Iowa State’s Brock eyes expanded role

Iowa’s Jones adjusting to move to center

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2022 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC