Parkland County Fire Services

NFPA defines the role of Awareness personnel as anyone who could encounter an emergency involving hazardous materials/weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the course of their normal duties. Upon encountering hazardous materials/weapons of mass destruction (WMD) personnel are expected to:
• recognize the presence of the hazardous materials/WMD,
• protect themselves,
• call for trained personnel, and
• secure the scene.

Examination
The NFPA 1072 Awareness examination is 50 questions. All questions have the same value. Candidates have 120 minutes to complete the exam. Use of the 2016 Emergency Response Guidebook is permitted.
Skills Evaluation
Candidates will be evaluated using at least one transportation scenario AND at least one facility scenario. The transportation scenario will test on the use of the 2016 Emergency Response Guidebook while the facility scenario will test on the use of safety data sheets (SDS).
Two transportation scenarios and two facility scenarios are provided to the evaluator, however the use of these supplementary materials is not mandatory. Evaluators can use their own or the department’s materials, or modify the material provided to suit the specific training and testing needs of the host department/organization.
The testing host department must provide an appropriate location for the evaluation scenarios. No more than six months should elapse between instruction and testing of the theory and the practical evaluation.
Resources
The following resources were used to develop the NFPA 1072 Hazardous Materials Awareness exam and evaluation materials:
• Essentials of Fire Fighting, Seventh Edition, IFSTA, 2018 (Chapters 2, 24, 25, and 26)
• 2016 Emergency Response Guidebook
• Information on dangerous goods from the Transport Canada website, including but not limited to information on CANUTEC and Emergency Response Assistance Plans (ERAPs)
• Information on Safety