METH LAB 101

Local Fire And Road Crews Training To Spot Dangerous Speed Operations

As more methamphetamine labs spring up in Perth County, firefighters and
road crews find their jobs getting more dangerous.

To combat the increased danger, the Drug Enforcement Section from western
region headquarters of the OPP held information sessions for local fire and
road crews to teach them what to look for. In the past two years, 10 meth
labs have been discovered in Perth County.

In mid-December road crews in Perth East attended a session after the
manager of public works and parks, Glenn Schwendinger, requested it.

"We wanted to make sure our guys know what to look out for so they're
safe," he said.

Discarded propane tanks used to haul anhydrous ammonia, one of the
chemicals used to make the drug, have been found in rural areas, said
Const. Glen Childerley of the Perth OPP. If the valve on the tank has
turned blue it's a sign the tank has been used as a container for the ammonia.

"If the valve is blue it could be explosive," Const. Childerley said. He
added the chemicals are volatile and so are the fumes.

"We've actually encountered some of the materials so the training has
definitely paid off," Mr. Schwendinger said.

Perth County firefighters attended information sessions held around the
county. Just last week Milverton firefighters were called to a blaze at a
home where police found a meth lab.

"Fire was trained more extensively. They're often the first respondents,"
Const. Childerley said.

"When they get there they have to check for certain things like chemical
containers, propane tanks, things that would indicate it's not an ordinary
house fire."

The most recent statistics out of the United States say one in four meth
labs blow up.

Shakespeare Station Chief Gerry Witzel organized one of the sessions with
firefighters from Shakespeare, Sebringville, Milverton and Tavistock. The
sessions gave firefighters a lot of information they didn't have before, he
said. In fact, he is considering having a "refresher" session once a year,
much like CPR training.

"It's the little things to watch for and be observant of before you go
running into a fire, because nowadays you never know what you 're running
into. (Meth labs) are popping up all over the place," he said.

Before the training it wasn't something he thought about often, but now
he's more vigilant, he said. Besides explosions, the chemicals in meth labs
can also cause injury if skin is exposed to them.

"Once you know what's out there and what the possibilities are if things go
wrong it's a little scary," he said. Speed operations aren't just a problem
in rural areas. Two have been discovered in Stratford so far, one of which
blew up.

Some Stratford firefighters have attended training sessions and Stratford
fire Chief Jim Clements said the department has requested further training
from Stratford police.

"(Training) can be extremely important. The situation can be volatile and
certainly life threatening," he said.