Air Force firefighters teach Iraqis blaze fighting basics

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Phyllis Hanson
  • 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  Seven local Iraqi firefighters shared a momentous occasion as they graduated from the Ali Base basic firefighter skills course.

The 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron fire and emergency services flight firefighters put on a six-day training course to train Iraqi firemen of varying experience levels, from a province in nearby An Nasiriyah.

"Our Air Force firefighters are directly supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom by helping them improve the fire services in southern Iraq," said Staff Sgt. DeRon Branch, course leader with the 407th ECES.

The regional program is run in cooperation with liaisons from the Iraqi fire service.

The 80-hour Air Force curriculum was condensed into about five, four-hour blocks covering basic firefighting skills, search and rescue, live fire training, auto extrication and medical training to include CPR.

Before the start of the course, students went through a vigorous Iraqi and American selection and screening process.

The first visit to the fire house included introductions and academic classroom work. But in the weeks following, the men got to put those lessons into practice.

"My most memorable experience would be the eagerness each student possessed to become firefighters," Sergeant Branch said. "They were all very hard working."

"The training the men have received, we are very grateful for," said an Iraqi firefighter. "We will use our training experiences every day by training others. Now we just need the right equipment to help us, so we can better respond and save lives."

The sixth and final day of training, the Iraqi firefighters wnt through a confidence course allowing them to apply the techniques they learned.

"Our mission is to save lives. And after all their training, they looked like they were ready to save lives too," said Staff Sgt. Dan Erickson Jr., a fire protection crew chief with the 407th ECES.

The firemen were each given a certificate of training during a special graduation ceremony.

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