In February of 1982, Paul Mayer, then Chief of Shady Valley Fire Protection District, stood at the intersection of Interstate 55 and Highway A in Festus for seven hours, "babysitting a box truck that had some sort of leak from a broken container. " Paul stated that while waiting for a cleanup crew, in twenty degree weather with below zero wind chill, to arrive on scene and take care of the situation, he watched as the rollup door of the box truck turned from a white color to a light green. Paul said at that time they didn't know whether to run or hide. This was the last straw in a long series of babysitting tours for hazardous material calls.

In April of 1982, Shady Valley Fire Protection District hosted a meeting of all the County Fire Departments on the prospect of establishing a Hazmat Team. There was a lot of skepticism from most, and a few flatly said "no". Nevertheless, from that meeting Chief Mayer was able to get a team established that would provide emergency response to hazardous material incidents. Paul said that he had two aces in the hole that he liked to refer to as "walking chemistry books." Those bookends, Chief Mike Siegel and Assistant Chief (Training) Don Ridenhower, are still with the team today, and have been responsible for getting response personnel trained and finding money to purchase response equipment and a vehicle.

In time, Mike and Don started working with the CAER Organization (Community Awareness Emergency Response). Paul states that CAER deserves a lot of credit for its vision, and its trust that the Team would develop and mature. Mike and Don worked out a five-year contribution plan with CAER, which would net $33,000 over the five-year period. That money was used to train personnel, purchase a response vehicle, and equip the Team for most any type of response including Level A response. Next, funds had to be found to provide physicals for trained personnel. A meeting was set with the Presiding Commissioner for Jefferson County, at that time Elizabeth Faulkenberry, to ask for assistance. Ms. Faulkenberry committed the necessary money, and the team was in business. Over time, funds received from the CAER Organization would allow the team to purchase a used beer truck, transform it into a response vehicle with a command post, and equip it with purchased and donated equipment.

In January 1997, the Jefferson County Office of Emergency Management officially adopted this team, comprised of highly trained and qualified volunteer personnel from both the fire service and (local) industry. With financial assistance from Jefferson County, the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), and reimbursements received from responsible party spillers, Jefferson County is fortunate to have one of 18 such teams in the State of Missouri.