Airmen run fire department at forward operating base

  • Published
  • By Army Spc. Cheryl Ransford
  • 17th Public Affairs Detachment
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  With safety at the forefront in everyone’s minds, having firefighters ready and standing by is important when an emergency happens on base.

The fire department here is run by four Airmen from Manas Air Base, Kyrgyz Republic, who respond to emergencies.

The types of emergencies the team is prepared to react to range from aircraft and tent fires to overturned vehicles, said Senior Airman Sean Barnette, of the 376th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron.

“By having a team of trained firemen on base to react to emergencies, the chances of something getting out of control are lessened,” he said.

One of the main roles of the firefighters is to stand by when aircraft land.

“We are on the flightline, ready to go, every time a prop-type aircraft lands, in case something were to happen during landing,” said Airman Barnette.

While the firefighters work with the aircraft most of the time, they are also ready to handle just about any other type of emergency that may arise, said Airman 1st Class Joshua Flagle, also from the 376th ECES.

Since most of the people here live and work in tents, the biggest concern is electrical fires inside the tents.

“Fire is a huge thing, especially in a place where people spend most of their time in flammable structures,” Airman Flagle said. “If one of the tents was to catch fire, it would burn down in three minutes or less, and most likely spread to the tents surrounding it.”

In order to ensure the firefighters here are in peak readiness, they rotate out every two weeks with other trained firefighters from their unit in Manas AB.

“There is a total of 39 firefighters who rotate through Salerno,” Airman Barnette said. “We rotate out so that no one gets complacent. Every person will experience something different than the person who (he or she) replaced or who comes after (him or her).”

To help the firefighters do their job efficiently, they use two P-19B fire crash vehicles, each with a 2,000-gallon capacity.

“Because of the P-19B’s design, we are able to fight both aircraft and structural fires with the same vehicle,” Airman Barnette said. “Unlike the original model of the P-19, the P-19B has a roof turret and a bumper turret, along with three hoses to fight fires.”

The roof and bumper turrets are mainly used for aircraft fires, while the hoses can be carried into areas the truck cannot get into, such as structural fires.

The firefighters here are also trained to help in medical emergencies, said Airman Flagle.

“Each of the firefighters who rotates through Salerno (is) either (a) first-responder trained in basic emergency response, or (he or she is an) emergency medical technicians trained in wound management and basic pre-hospital care,” he said.

While the faces of the firefighters here change regularly, the level of service provided is consistent, ensuring properly trained people are on site in the event of an emergency.