Colorado Springs Fire Department has new hazmat team

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Part of the Colorado Springs Fire Department will now be solely dedicated to hazardous materials incidents.

Prior to the new hazmat team, the staff at Station 14 on the northeast side of town were cross-trained to handle hazmat calls. The department says they helped cover inspections and minor cases.

However, when big cases came in, the team would be stretched thin and crews from different stations would have to fill in the gaps.

"The guys and gals have done an incredible job juggling the responses and wearing several hats for a long time," said Captain Tim Krantz, the hazmat program manager. "As of this morning, bringing back the dedicated hazmat company is a huge step forward in the level of service we're offering the citizens of Colorado Springs."

CSFD says the city did have a hazmat team before, but after the 2008 recession there were forced staffing and budget cuts.