Firefighters ready for anything

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Mark Getsy
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  When many deployed Airmen receive a tasking, they normally have a day or even a week to complete it.

For one group of Airmen, their deadline is only minutes, and it could be the difference between life and death.

The responsibility of the men and women of the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron’s flightline fire department is simple -- to respond to any incident and be ready to help someone who cannot help themselves in emergency situations.

To ensure they are ready to meet the tasks, Tech. Sgt. Timothy Grimes, flightline fire department assistant chief, said it takes a lot of exercising and training.

“We conduct training exercises at least twice a week,” Sergeant Grimes said. “Our training consists of anything from a simulated aircraft crash to a structural fire.”

The crew also trains for any out-of-the-ordinary responses that could come up, Sergeant Grimes said.

“We’ve also trained on scenarios such as a person being stuck under a vehicle that fell off a jack,” he said. “In this situation, we practice our requirements to stabilize the patient while using high pressure air bags to free him or her from the vehicle.”

Training is vital because every situation is unique, said Tech. Sgt. Thomas Gervais, a former training instructor.

“No emergencies will be the same,” he said. “The amount of passengers may vary or the aircraft may be different. Failure to train can only mean chaos. If you train properly, it becomes second nature.”

The training of the 24 firefighters assigned to the station has proven to be critical as they have responded to more than 200 calls since they’ve deployed during this rotation. One of them was a mass casualty accident involving Soldiers.

“We had a major bus accident occur off base. When we first arrived, the (Soldiers) were performing self-aid and buddy care,” Sergeant Grimes said. “We immediately started assisting them until other medical personnel arrived. It was amazing watching how everyone came together from different branches of the military. The professionalism of everyone out there was critical to support patients being transported by ground and air.”

Sergeant Grimes said it’s situations like these that make training vital to a successful response.

“Our standard is no more than three minutes to be at the furthest point of the runway for an unannounced emergency,” he said. “If we are pre-warned, we must cover the entire airfield in less than a minute from the time of the incident.”

Sergeant Grimes said there is absolutely nothing more important than knowing the firefighters are prepared to help someone else correctly and safely.

“If we don’t train, we can’t be there when others need us,” he said. “We’ve seen a little of everything (while deployed here.) I can honestly say, our guys have been there whenever and wherever the mission needed us.”