APPLETON, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS)— An inside look at the Appleton Fire Department Hazmat and Decontamination Unit.

Inside the Appleton Fire Department is a talented team of men and women who are trained in hazmat and decontamination.

The Appleton Hazmat and Decontamination unit is a team of around 23 firefighters who serve the northeast region of Wisconsin.

"Basically when a chemical is no longer in its container it's a problem so we need to go out and take care of it," Appleton Fire Department Hazmat Specialist, Todd Daanen said.

Todd Daanen is the master of all things hazmat at the Appleton Fire Department. He’s been in the business for quite some time and has plenty of knowledge to go around. He helps lead the team to safely contain hazardous materials.

"Part of the challenge is not so much getting it off of you its knowing if it’s on you in the first place so we have to have different technologies to find out do you have something on you, then we have to get it off and now are you clean," Daanen said.

A decontamination looks like an assembly line or a car wash for humans. To demonstrate, a member of the team has ammonia placed on him to show how it works. The assembly line starts by finding out if someone is contaminated or not

The team found traces of ammonia on his arm and on his boot. From there, he is washed down to ensure he is clean. However, he must go through multiple sprays and is also scrubbed down to remove and hazardous substance.

The department also has a more advanced technology called an ESS or and electric static sprayer.

"It’s a way to put decontamination in a sprayer form where it’s not hosing you down with lots and lots of water," Daanen said.

Instead the mist that comes out of the sprayer sticks to their body and cleans while it’s attached. It's a process this team is trained for and is ready to use on a daily basis.