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Hazardous Materials

Hazard in Fire

A technological hazard, chemical, radiological or fuel escaping from a facility, a shipment, a pipeline or a plant, forcing shelter-in-place or evacuation along its path.

Includes: Hazardous Material (Chemical, Biological, Radiological) Release, Nuclear Incident, Pipeline Incident

  • Hazardous Material (Chemical, Biological, Radiological) Release. A technological hazard, chemical, biological or radiological material escaping from a facility or shipment, forcing shelter-in-place or evacuation.
  • Nuclear Incident. A low-probability, high-consequence hazard centered on nuclear facilities, with planning zones that extend miles beyond the fence line.
  • Pipeline Incident. An infrastructure hazard where a rupture releases gas or liquid fuel, bringing fire, explosion and contamination risk along the route.
See a sample briefBook a walkthroughAll 31 hazards →

Sample brief

The first page of a Hazardous Materials brief: likelihood, impact and readiness on your own scale, with each figure sourced.

Evidence brief for Cedar Ridge County (example)

September 14, 2026

Hazardous Materials

Hazard in Fire, on the established threats & hazards list

Impact
5432112345

Likelihood

Likelihood
2

Unlikely — Possible but infrequent — roughly once in 50 to 100 years (1–2% chance in any year).

Impact
3

Moderate — Notable effects — injuries possible, damage in multiple areas, essential services disrupted for days.

Readiness
3

Moderate — The organization has a generally established capability to manage this threat or hazard, but identifiable gaps remain. The organization could likely perform many required actions, though effectiveness may vary depending on conditions, staffing, resources, or complexity.

  • 2source documents
  • 58verified mentions
  • 2federal declarations
  • —NRI risk score
Worked example: Cedar Ridge County is fictional. The scores illustrate the format and are nobody's decision. Open a full sample brief →

The national record

FEMA’s National Risk Index doesn’t model Hazardous Materials. Your team fills it with local evidence, and Hazzard shows the gap rather than a zero.

How it maps

The same hazard in the vocabularies your plan and FEMA already use.

FEMA National Risk Index
Not covered
FEMA declaration incident type
Chemical, Toxic Substances10 declarations on record
NOAA Storm Events type
Not covered
Hazzard category
Fire, natural hazardsincludes Hazardous Material (Chemical, Biological, Radiological) Release, Nuclear Incident, Pipeline Incident

The national record

What the federal data says about Hazardous Materials

The same national sources a Hazzard brief starts from. For your jurisdiction we narrow each one to your county and its neighbors.

10 federal declarations since 1962

Declarations FEMA filed as “Chemical”, “Toxic Substances”, by year (2026 to date)

0121962: 2 declarations1978: 1 declaration1980: 1 declaration1981: 1 declaration1987: 1 declaration1992: 1 declaration2014: 1 declaration2016: 1 declaration2026 (to date): 1 declaration1962: 2197019801990200020102020
OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, as of 2026-09-27. Counts distinct disasters; major, emergency and fire-management declarations.

In your plan

What a Hazardous Materials profile needs, and where each part comes from

A local hazard mitigation plan profiles each hazard the same way (44 CFR 201.6). Here is how Hazzard fills each part for Hazardous Materials.

  1. Location

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    Your documents

    No national layer maps Hazardous Materials. We draw the geographic extent from your plans, studies and annexes, cited to the page.

  2. Extent

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    Your documents

    The magnitude your plans use for Hazardous Materials (a scale, a depth, an acreage, a duration), read from your documents and cited, so the profile states the strength you plan for.

  3. Previous occurrences

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    National data

    Every FEMA declaration filed as Chemical or Toxic Substances that included your county, back to 1953, alongside the events your own records and after-action reports describe.

  4. Probability of future events

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    Your team decides

    No national dataset gives a frequency for Hazardous Materials. Your team scores likelihood on your scale from the evidence we organize.

  5. Vulnerability and impacts

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(ii)

    Your documents

    The Census population profile and HHS emPOWER counts for context; the consequences themselves come from your plans and exercises.

  6. The assessment itself

    Your team decides

    Likelihood, impact and readiness for Hazardous Materials are drafted with every source attached, and a person on your team accepts each one. Hazzard never records a score on its own.

How we can help

How we’d help you prepare for Hazardous Materials

  1. 1

    We pull your county's record

    NRI's wildfire rating and expected loss, fire declarations, and the dry-season climate record for your county.

  2. 2

    We read the plans you already have

    Your hazard mitigation plan, community wildfire protection plan and EOP hazmat annex, so what they say about Hazardous Materials is cited to the page.

  3. 3

    You leave with a cited brief

    Likelihood, impact and readiness for Hazardous Materials on your own scale, with each figure tied to its source. It is ready for your planning team or council.

Also in Fire

Preparing for Hazardous Materials

Prepare for Hazardous Materials with evidence your council can check.

Wildfire risk concentrates where homes meet wildland, and a hazmat response starts with knowing what is stored nearby. We put your county's record next to your protection plans and annexes so the interface is argued from evidence. We reply within one business day.

Book a walkthrough

Takes about two minutes. A person reads each request.

Or start by marking your area on the map