MASS
DECON
UNIT
ABOUT
Mass Decontamination Units (MDUs) are a group of specialist modules designed to be deployed to incidents via Prime Mover (PM) and assist in the large-scale decontamination of firefighters and people in the event of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN), hazardous materials (HAZMAT) or industrial incidents where the rapid removal of harmful substances from large amounts of people is needed.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has nine mass decontamination stations, two of which are support stations and one a lite station. All decontamination units are provided under the national resilience framework by the Scottish Government. In the event of a mass decontamination incident, an MDU shall be deployed alongside four dedicated support pumps (not including the station's dual-crewed pump) and two support modules.
Four, usually two-pump stations near an MDU module, are specially picked as decontamination support stations. Crews and pumps at said stations are provided with decontamination training and given decontamination equipment for the pumps. These support stations are the ones turned out alongside the MDU, allowing for increased decontamination coverage as well as sufficient manpower for the setting up of decontamination structures.
CLASSIFICATIONS
Mass Decontamination Unit (MDU)
The primary module for decontamination incidents. The module carries a variety of decontamination equipment, namely a large tent-like shower structure which is capable of decontaminating around 200 people per hour. The setting up of this module requires around 20 trained personnel which is why the four designated support pumps must be mobilised. The MDU additionally carries a variety of HAZMAT equipment such as detergents and Powered Respiratory Protection Suits (PRPS).
Mass Decontamination Lite (MDL)
There is only one MDL module in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, located at Springburn. The MDL module focuses on specifically firefighter decontamination and support equipment.
Mass Decontamination Support (MDS)
The intended purpose of the logistics module is to supplement the MDU's operations and allow for a successful operation overall. The module carries additional equipment such as Gas Tight Suits (GTS) and further disrobe and re-robe structures. The support module brings the decontamination capacity to around 250 persons per hour. All stations with a MDU will also have a support module alongside it, some stations will only have a support module.
Mass Decontamination Basic
This mode of decontamination is not found in a module format but is instead carried on the likes of Incident Support Vehicles (ISVs). The equipment is overall fairly basic and only allows for small-scale decontamination or early interventions at HAZMAT incidents before more advanced teams arrive.