The next time you respond to a business alarm with a visible entry point, take time to see whether any National Fire Protection Association chemical hazard labels are present for that building or a storage area before you make entry. These labels are different than the DOT placards on vehicles but just as important to your health and safety. They have four diamonds that are placed together to make one large diamond. Each diamond is a color that represents a hazard: blue for health, red for fire, yellow for reactivity and white for specific hazards such as acid, oxidizer, alkali or corrosive. Each color/hazard has a number from zero to five. The higher the number, the greater the hazard. They are well placed and easy to read. Suffice it to say, you don’t want to enter an area that could have been compromised by a burglar looking for loot and spilling some hazardous chemical. Take your time. If the label has any high numbers, get the fire department involved right away. Firefighters should have detectors and educated guidance on whether you should make entry or not. Take haz mat seriously. The worst case is somebody dies immediatley. The not-as-bad case is that death takes days, weeks or years to occur. Long-term effects can be insidious and horrible. You don’t want to take some chemicals back to your car, the department or your home.