MAFFS 'safety man' keeps people, environment safe

  • Published
  • By Sgt. 1st Class Lori A. Simmons
  • 302nd Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs Office
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AFPN) --  Since firefighting operations started June 26, Airmen from the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group have been busy on the ground, keeping operations running smoothly at McClellan Airfield, Calif.

The job to keep those Airmen safe goes to Senior Master Sgt. Aaron Smith, from Cheyenne, Wyo. Sergeant Smith is the safety officer for the 302nd AEG. He says his job is not just about enforcing rules; it's about preventing accidents before they can happen.

"[The 302nd operating from McClellan is made up of] three different units [and] some of them are not normally around aircraft," Sergeant Smith said. "So, the main issue is to educate everyone on doing what's safe."

Sergeant Smith said, just like any other mission, complacency can set in. He says the first day people are very cautious, but after a while they get comfortable and have a tendency to relax their personal safety standards.

"This is really the time to do a lot of education and remind [the crews] don't do this or don't do that," Sergean Smith said. "What I've done is go around and watch what people are doing...If I see something [unsafe], I let them know so we can fix it."

The 302nd AEG's mission relies heavily on the safety of each member of the crew.

"If one person goes down [due to injury or illness], that effects the entire mission," Sergeant Smith said. "It's very important that everyone is safe [and] that everyone is taking care of themselves."

Sergeant Smith's job is to not only keep people safe but also help protect the environment. During the firefighting operations, one major concern is the run-off from the retardant reloading operations.

"[The fire retardant] is environmentally friendly, but when you put a lot of anything down the drain, you still want to let the water treatment plant know what's going on," Sergeant Smith said. "So, if [the water treatment plant] gets a high flux of something, they can be prepared for it."

To help prevent a large amounts of fire retardant from getting into the water system, crews have built a holding area for the run-off.

"We pump the run-off [from the holding area] into a tank, test the water [for toxic chemicals] and dispose of it properly," Sergeant Smith said.

Sergeant Smith has worked in unit safety for the past two years, and he enjoys being able to help the people of California.

"I'm fortunate to have experience a lot of things that some people don't have the opportunity to do," Sergeant Smith said. "For me to be able to help a community get past a tough situation is worth the stress and tiredness that we all experience working [long days] to get [the mission] done...It gives you a good feeling."

So far, during Sergeant Smith's watch, the 302nd AEG hasn't had any major spills or reportable accidents.

The 302nd AEG provides unique capabilities and is part of a unified military support effort of U.S. Northern Command to provide assistance to the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE and the National Interagency Fire Center.

USNORTHCOM continues to closely monitor the California wildfires to anticipate additional requests for Department of Defense assistance to local, federal, and state civil authorities and will launch as many missions as officials require to battle the wildfires.

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