Firefighters douse blaze, protect base facilities

  • Published
  • By Capt. Tom Knowles
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  Firefighters assigned to the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing at a forward-deployed location were just getting ready to eat lunch when their portable radios broadcast the one word that starts the adrenaline pumping -- “Fire!”

“All I heard was fire, and then everyone started running,” said Airman 1st Class Danielle Morris, a driver/operator assigned to the fire department.

Base firefighters were recently dispatched to a trailer fire after people assigned to the nearby air traffic control tower reported the blaze. About 16 firefighters raced to their vehicles, donned protective gear and rushed to the scene. Smoke was billowing and flames roared from the trailer as they arrived.

Airman Morris was among the first to arrive on scene. She operated one of the department’s tankers which is capable of carrying and delivering 2,000 gallons of water to firefighting vehicles and hoses. The tanker is essentially a “fire hydrant” on wheels, she said.

“I hooked up (my vehicle) to … the first vehicle on scene and resupplied (its) water,” Airman Morris said.

As they battled the blaze, the firefighters got a report that someone might still be inside the burning trailer.

“The (people who) work in the tower yelled down, ‘Hey we think there’s somebody still inside of there,’” said Staff Sgt. Jon Silvis, a crew chief and search and rescue specialist. “Knowing there was a possible victim in there really put me into high gear.”

Wielding hoses and axes, four firefighters burst into the trailer, simultaneously extinguishing the blaze and searching for the potential victim.

“We went in and did a search, but didn’t find anybody,” Sergeant Silvis said.

The team quickly extinguished the blaze, preventing damage to a nearby row of trailers and possibly the tower. While the trailer was a complete loss, there were no injuries or deaths associated with the fire.