The HazMat Guys
Premium Content:

THMG185a – Interview with Toby Bevelacqua at IAFC

Podcast: Play in new window

In this episode, Bob talks to hazmat instructor Toby Bevelacqua about the past, present, and future of hazmat. They agree that shows like IAFC are a great opportunity to collaborate with our peers and expand our horizons.

Thank to our sponsors, CavCom, Inc., First Line Technology, and All Safe Industries.

Our hazardous materials training manual, National Emergency Response Hazmat Drills: 50 Drills for Use with Hazardous Materials Personnel, is finally available on Amazon!

Complete Show Notes

1:10 Introduction to Toby Bevelacqua

  • 37 year veteran of the fire service – most in special operations and on the medical side
  • Worked at a lot of different departments and ended up in Orlando – retired 8 years ago as Chief of Special Operations

5:00 Hazmat in the Past

  • Training was on the job – thrown into the frying pan and you either sank or swam
  • Collaboration across the country really didn’t start until the early- and mid-1990s – really only happened on the local level
  • Weren’t too many books out there at the time – there were really only a few reference books available
  • This drove Toby to start writing since there were a lot of holes to fill – learned a lot as he moved through the ranks and wanted to get that info out there

10:45 Hazmat Today

  • You can’t put someone in a classroom setting and give them things to memorize – hands-on is still so important
  • People are asking “why” a lot less – asking questions is good, though, so we need more of this
  • You get the A Team at conferences – people really want to be there and want to learn and improve
  • Take good notes and bring handouts home to share with your other team members

21:15 The Future of Hazmat

  • More podcasts just like this one
  • Toby created a comic book called The Adventures of Hazmat Man
  • These things don’t replace actually talking to people face-to-face – instead, they supplement and enhance them
  • Virtual conferences are also coming down the pike – live or recorded – but Bob and Toby warn against this since it’s impersonal
  • Toby has also built six hazmat games that are ideal for instruction and training purposes

29:30 How to Contact Toby

Check out the following helpful links:

Have a question? Send an email to feedback@thehazmatguys.com or leave a message on our Haz Mat Guys comment hotline: 843-628-1484

Show Sponsors
Related Episodes