What is the recommended minimal number of personnel needed to manage a hazardous materials incident safely?

A typical team would consist of a minimum of eight well-equipped and trained members. Of these, two individuals perform incident operations and rescue, two others serve as operations backup, two are the Decontamination Team, and there is one safety and one operations officer.

The minimum number of personnel needed to manage a specific hazardous materials incident safely depends on how much hazardous material is involved, what kind of hazardous material is involved, and where the incident is in regard to populations, waterways, and transportation corridors.