With California’s arterial interstate running right through the middle of its boundaries, there are a lot of possible scenarios for which the Lathrop Manteca Fire District would have to respond.

And in the event that there’s a tanker truck carrying hazardous materials involved in the call, Lathrop’s emergency services will have had plenty of training on what to do thanks to a generous donation by the California Ammonia Company – also known as Calamco.

Last month the company donated a tank trailer that was previously used to haul anhydrous ammonia – a component used in the creation of ammonia nitrate fertilizer, which can be explosive if mishandled – for emergency crews to train with. The tanker was cleaned out of all traces of the corrosive material before it was parked at the district’s training facility.

“Occasionally you may see these types of tractor trailers on our roadways,” the District said in a statement about the donation. “The Lathrop Manteca Fire District and its neighboring agencies have highly trained hazardous materials response team members that are trained to mitigate trailers with these types of emergencies.

“As a note, if you see one of these trailers that appears to have a while “cloud” of material near them please stay up wind, out of the area, and immediately call 911.”

While the district has only seen it’s population explode over the course of the last decade thanks to the city being one of the fastest growing in California, first responders working in the city have always had to be up to standard on a variety of specialized training thanks to the unique layout of the district and the businesses located there – from I-5 and its abundance of trucks hauling all types of materials to the Simplot plant that manufactures fertilizer and a host of other products.

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.