Hazardous material emergencies shall be managed by the Toms River Township Police Department, Emergency Management, and the Toms River Township Bureau of Fire Prevention as hereinafter provided.

The Hazardous Material Emergency Management Team (hereinafter referred to as "Haz-Mat Team") shall consist of the Haz-Mat Team staff coordinators, the Code Enforcement Officer and one representative each from all of the first aid squads in the municipality, from each fire district, from the Department of Public Works, from the Board of Health or Health, Human Services and Human Resources Department, from the Department of Construction and Inspection Services, from the Department of Law Enforcement and from the Department of Law and Community Development, Engineering Division. Except for the fire districts and first aid squad representatives and the Code Enforcement Officer, all members of said Team shall be appointed by the Mayor with advice and consent of Council.

Line response shall consist of specially trained personnel from the fire and police, who shall be appointed by the Toms River Township Fire Commissioners and Chief of Police.

The staff coordinators of the Haz-Mat Team shall be the Chief Inspector of the Bureau of Fire Prevention, the Emergency Management Coordinator and the Chief of Police, and they shall exercise overall supervision over the Team and any support units created to assist that Team.

Three classes of hazardous material emergency shall be recognized, as follows:

A staff coordinator or a designee of the Haz-Mat Team shall determine the response to be made to each reported incident depending on the type class thereof, provided that a Class 1 incident shall require a minimum single individual response of the responsible agency, a Class 2 incident shall require a minimum response of fire and police personnel, and a Class 3 incident shall require a minimum response by a police unit, a fire company, first aid squad and Emergency Management personnel. These minimum responses shall not preclude any additional responses of personnel or equipment to be determined by the staff coordinators. The staff coordinators are authorized in any Class 2 or Class 3 incident to request assistance from nonmunicipal emergency services.

The Haz-Mat Team shall respond to any incident involving a threat to public safety created by any hazardous material as defined by any building code, property maintenance code, fire safety code or state and federal statute.

All Haz-Mat personnel under the jurisdiction of the Township of Toms River and the Toms River Township Fire Commissioners, or receiving financial assistance therefrom, shall cooperate to the fullest extent possible with any responses required by the staff coordinators. The members of the Team shall serve as liaisons between the staff coordinators and each municipal department or agency whose participation is required to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, and each team member shall serve as a liaison directly from and to the department or agency from which be is a representative, where applicable. For purposes of this chapter, all employees and officials of the departments and agencies from whom representatives are drawn for membership on the Haz-Mat Team shall constitute Haz-Mat personnel.

The Haz-Mat Team shall meet at least once monthly and shall review responses to prior incidents, assess the performance of such responses and formulate plans for future emergency operations.

The Chief Inspector of the Bureau of Fire Prevention shall furnish a written report of the activities of the Haz-Mat Team, including any recommendation for action by the Township Council or Mayor, and the Toms River Township Fire Commissioners, both to the Township Council and Mayor, and the Toms River Township Fire Commissioners within seven days of each monthly meeting of said Team, and shall furnish special reports following any Class 3 incident as soon as practically possible thereafter.

Ex officio members of the Team shall be a Toms River Township Councilperson and a Commissioner from Toms River Township Fire District No. 1 and a Commissioner from Toms River Township Fire District No. 2.