ERG 2024 — Emergency Response Guidebook
PHMSA / Transport Canada / Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation · Initial Response Reference
At a Glance
The current North American guide for the initial phase of transportation incidents involving hazardous materials and dangerous goods.
What This Means for Firefighters
The Emergency Response Guidebook is the book firefighters are expected to open during the first minutes of a transportation hazmat incident. PHMSA describes the 2024 ERG as a manual for first responders during the initial phase of a transportation incident involving hazardous materials or dangerous goods. It is built for recognition, isolation, protective action, and early safety decisions before product-specific technical resources are fully available.
The ERG is not a complete hazmat plan and it is not a substitute for a hazmat technician, SDS, air monitoring, or command judgment. Its strength is speed. If the crew can safely identify a UN/NA number, placard, or material name, the ERG gives an initial guide number, public safety reminders, fire/spill/leak guidance, and initial isolation or protective action distances for selected materials. That keeps the first-due company from improvising while the incident is still unstable.
New responders often struggle less with finding the right guide number and more with reading it under pressure — the ERG's four-color section system (white intro pages, yellow numeric index, blue alphabetical index, orange guide pages, green table for TIH materials) rewards drilling until the workflow is automatic, since fumbling through pages while a scene is developing wastes the exact minutes the book exists to save.
Fireground Impact
- Use the ERG early, from a safe location, while command is still building the incident picture.
- Treat ERG distances and guide pages as initial actions, then refine decisions using monitoring, weather, product data, container condition, and hazmat team input.
- If no reliable ID is available, use placard-based or unknown-material guidance and avoid close reconnaissance until the hazard is better defined.
Department Impact
- Keep current ERG copies or app access on apparatus, command vehicles, dispatch consoles, and training devices.
- Drill the yellow, blue, orange, green, and placard-table workflow until members can use it under pressure.
- Pair ERG lookup with SOP/SOG language on isolation, staging, evacuation/shelter-in-place, notifications, and escalation to hazmat resources.
Key Requirements
- Rapid identification using UN/NA number, material name, placard, or container information
- Initial isolation and protective action guidance for selected materials
- Guide pages for general hazards, public safety, fire, spill/leak, and first aid considerations
- Green-table guidance for toxic inhalation hazards, water-reactive materials producing toxic gases, and chemical warfare agents
- Use as an initial response tool, not as final product-specific technical authority
Who Must Comply
- First-due companies at highway, rail, air, water, or package transportation incidents
- Dispatchers and command officers relaying UN/NA numbers and guide numbers
- Hazmat teams using ERG information as the initial reference before deeper product research
- Training officers building awareness and operations-level drills
Records to Keep
- ERG edition used in training and apparatus inventory checks
- Drill records showing UN lookup, placard lookup, and green-table protective action practice
- Incident reports documenting which guide number and protective action guidance were used
Source Notes
- PHMSA states that the 2024 Emergency Response Guidebook and mobile application are available.
- PHMSA describes the ERG as intended for the initial phase of transportation incidents involving hazardous materials or dangerous goods.
Compliance Checklist
Practical steps for working toward ERG 2024 compliance. General guidance — verify against the official source for your jurisdiction.
- Verify each front-line apparatus has access to the current ERG or approved digital equivalent
- Train members to identify the correct lookup path: UN/NA number, material name, placard, or container type
- Practice relaying ERG guide number, wind direction, distance, and evacuation/shelter recommendation over the radio
- Use ERG guidance in tabletop scenarios but update tactics when monitoring or hazmat specialists provide better data
Common Misunderstandings
- The ERG is not only for hazmat technicians. Awareness and operations-level responders should be able to use it during the first phase.
- The ERG does not replace shipping papers, SDS, technical specialists, or department SOP/SOG.
- A guide number is not a complete incident action plan. It is a starting point for initial isolation and protective action.
Official Sources
Always confirm current text and applicability with the official source — this page is a training summary, not legal advice.