News>AF firefighters relocate, expand Iraqi fire training course
Photos
Master Sgt. James Brody creates a simulated car fire for a live burn exercise in Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 24. Sergeant Brody is an assistant firefighter instructor, and is deployed from the 174th Fighter Wing, Syracuse Air National Guard, N.Y. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Paul Villanueva II)
Tech. Sgt. Brian Partido explains the different features of the mobile live fire training unit in Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 24. Sergeant Partido is a fire and rescue advisor, and is deployed from the 19th Civil Engineer Squadron, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Paul Villanueva II)
An Iraqi firefighter double checks his partner's personal protective equipment before participating in a live fire training scenario in Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 24. The firefighters are taking the firefighter apprentice course being taught by members of the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Paul Villanueva II)
Iraqi firefighters don their personal protective equipment before participating in a live fire exercise in Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 24. The firefighters are part of a 60-day firefighter apprentice course. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Paul Villanueva II)
Master Sgt. James Brody, center, observes Iraqi firefighters as they extinguish a fire during a training exercise in Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 24. Sergeant Brody is an assistant firefighter instructor and is deployed to the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, at Sather Air Base, Iraq, where he is the training chief. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Paul Villanueva II)
by Senior Master Sgt. Trish Freeland
AFCENT, Baghdad Media Outreach Team
12/29/2008 - BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- Iraqi firefighters are were more than half-way through the firefighter apprentice course being trained in Baghdad's International Zone before being moved. The class was previously taught at Taji Military Base just north of Baghdad, but the location lacked advanced live fire trainers and had limited capacity for students.
"The maximum class size at Taji was 10. In the IZ, we have five extra instructors from civil defense who enable us to teach an additional 24 students for just one class," said Tech. Sgt. Brian Partido, a fire rescue advisor deployed from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
The new location allows firefighters from the Iraqi Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense, which includes the Iraqi air force and army, to come together at one location for training. This particular training session marked the first time the two ministries worked together at this level.
"It was easy to show how beneficial the training would be. The Iraqi Air Force firefighters weren't getting the training they needed at Taji," said Maj. Trenton Roney, a training advisor deployed from Langley AFB, Va.
"Combining the course not only helped the MoD, but also the MoI. They were granted access to the Iraqi air force fire truck and firefighter suits that are being used for the training," said Major Roney.
The 60-day course was designed and conducted by the Coalition Air Force Training Team, a division of Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq and augmented by U.S. Air Force firefighters from the Department of Public Works and nearby Sather Air Base.
"We took the fire apprentice course from the U.S. Air Force and adapted it to the way Iraqi firefighters operate here and then had it translated into Arabic," said Sergeant Partido, an El Paso, Texas native.
The course consists of six training blocks that cover various areas including medical issues, basic fire principles, fire control, hazardous materials, structural training and aircraft firefighting.
"We took them through a structural trainer that is a brand new state of the art propane driven trainer," Sergeant Partido said. "We gave them the baseline knowledge of being able to enter a facility safely, extinguish a fire and operate on a fire and emergency scene."
"Since the MoI and MoD will often have to work together to fight fires, it's best for them to receive the same level of training so they'll be able to accomplish this more easily," Major Roney said.
The class brought together firefighters with different levels of firefighting experience. The experience levels ranged from those with no firefighting experience at all to veterans with 20 years experience.
Colonel Juher Jumhor Al Azawi, director general of the Training Academy, has been a firefighter for the last four years. He said the class was a good refresher.
"I've had rescue and firefighting training before but this class offered a lot of new information," he said. "I never worked with airbags before this."
First Lieutenant Ra'ed Hussein Alwan, is a 16-year Iraqi air force veteran. He previously served as a mechanic but transferred to firefighting after the war started in 2003.
"I chose to be a firefighter because it's a humanitarian thing, just like doctors helping sick kids," he said. "Even if I'm on vacation, I can use my skills to help with car accidents, volunteer at hospitals or put out neighbors fires."
Upon graduating in early January the firefighters will return to stations throughout Iraq to put their newly sharpened skills to use.
"We started with the basics and worked our way to the more advanced techniques," said Sergeant Partido. "It's amazing to see how far they've come in such a short amount of time. I think they're going to do excellent."
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