Removing the Dust from the ERG
PART II
Firefighter Todd C. McKee
College Township Fire Gambier, Ohio
HazMat Instructor
Photos By: Jason Whisner
In part one; we reviewed the basics on the Emergency Response Guide.
We started to remove the dust from the book and the cob webs from our brains.
However in part two let’s take a deeper look at the Emergency Response Guide.
Let’s look at the TABLE of PLACARDS. You should find this on pages 16 and
17 in your Emergency Response Guide.
We must remember to only use the table of placards if you are UNABLE to
identify the materials.
1. Use binoculars and approach incident upwind, if weather allows try to approach
the incident uphill. Do not forget to identify the shape of the container. Is it a
Motor Carrier or a Train Car? Is it round or is it square? This will help with
identifying and recognition.
2. Match what you see on the vehicle with the placards on pages 16 and 17.
3. Look at the Guide number associated with that color of placard. If the placard
points to more than one guide number, use the guide that has the greatest degree
of protective actions.
4. Remember the guide pages are orange and I like to call them our “DECSION
MAKING” pages. These guides provide the most significant risk/hazard
information.
5. We still need to do research to find as much information as possible pertaining to
the situation. When that information becomes available we need to turn to the
correct decision making pages and begin taking actions from these pages.
6. In part ONE we spoke about Guide 111; we use this Guide when we have no
further information to go by. Remember we still need to do our best to find the
much needed information. This is done AS SOON AS POSIBLE!
7. Asterisks (*) on orange placards are EXPLOSIVES See PAGE 359
8. Double Asterisks (**) are the DIVISION OF explosives
9. The circle with the number inside represents what GUIDE we use to make our
decisions
10. The small number inside the PLACARD represents the UN HAZARD CLASS
(see page 14)
11. Red is FIRE
12. Blue is HEALTH
13. White is SPECIAL
14. Yellow is REACTIVITY
ORANGE PANELS
(TOP) Hazard numbers (see page 20-23)
(BOTTOM) Four Digit UN ID Number
TOP
 Double digits double the hazard (88,44)
 The hazard associated with material can be adequately indicated by a
single digit then the digit is followed by 0
 X means that the material reacts violently to water (X33). Remember
if material reacts to water. This could cause a Toxic Inhalation
Hazard. This then could produce additional chemicals along with
additional hazards. (SEE Pages 45-349)
 When a 9 appears as 2nd or 3rd number the material may be at risk of
violent spontaneous reaction.
BOTTOM
 UN Identification number
 4 Digits
 Use Yellow pages in Emergency Response Guide
 Gather Guide Number (Orange Pages)
 Make Decisions from there
Removing the dust from the Emergency Response Guide takes time. However it all
depends on you!
Be safe and train, as training will save lives!