OXFORD – Delivery has been made of a shiny new 21-foot trailer that will serve the members of Decon Strike Team 4 hazardous materials specialists serving southern Oxford County.

The trailer, to be housed in Oxford and Paris, will be dispatched to help specialists respond to chemical-related emergencies.

A team of 21 fire/rescue personnel drawn from the ranks of the Norway, Paris and Oxford fire departments will receive extensive training on the use of the trailer and its equipment, said Oxford’s Deputy Fire Chief Scott Hunter.

The trailer and its equipment was purchased with about $70,000 from the federal Department of Homeland Security.

The team, led by Oxford firefighter Geoff Low, is one of 16 created by the state’s Weapons of Mass Destruction task force to provide local emergency workers a way to respond in the event of a terrorist act.

The team is assigned primarily to the MeadWestvaco Paper Co. Haz-Mat Team, but will likely respond to any large hazardous materials emergency in southern Maine, Hunter said.

Team members are still getting acquainted with all of the specialized equipment, which includes chemical-resistant suits and boots and meters that measure gas and radiation levels. There’s also rolls of paper to test the composition of different chemicals, and the main feature of the trailer – the decontamination tent.

Going in teams of six people at a time, the team will respond to a hazardous materials incident with the trailer and immediately set up a decontamination tent. Inside the tent, which can be set up in 20 minutes, will be all the hoses and equipment necessary to decontaminate people exposed to hazardous chemicals, Hunter said.

Affected persons, including emergency workers exposed to hazards in a “hot zone,” will be placed on a movable backboard and basically hosed down “with copious amounts of water,” Hunter said. Depending on the type of exposure, other treatment may take place before the person is handed over to rescue personnel for medical treatment.

“The chance of us having a WMD (weapons of mass destruction) incident are rare,” Hunter said. “All of the equipment is available to use on a day-to-day basis” for such other needs as carbon monoxide poisoning and propane leaks in homes, or in fighting fires.

“It’s a huge asset for this area,” Hunter said.

State emergency management agency personnel will soon be visiting to provide the team with a rundown of standard operations procedures for the trailer, he added.