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379th ECES ‘Fire Dawgs’ hone skills in midst of high ops tempo

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Clinton Atkins
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  As smoke bellows from a nearby structure, emergency responders rush to the scene and systematically begin to assess the situation. Within minutes, the firefighters are inside the facility and the threat is neutralized.

"Endex," says a voice over the radio.

The 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron firefighters handle structural fires, crash fires and medical first-response capabilities for more than 100 Coalition aircraft and 8,000 servicemembers here so there is always a need for training.

"Training is number one, it's in everything we do," said Master Sgt. Charles A. Morris, 379th ECES assistant chief of operations. "When we're not training, then we're doing."

The 57-member firefighter flight conducts approximately 40 training sessions per month totaling more than 60 hours.

"We have to train because that's what saves people's lives," said Sergeant Morris, deployed from MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. "When you do things through repetition it becomes standardized; your brain just automatically reacts and does what it's supposed to do."

Due to the nature of deployments in the Air Force, the 379th ECES firefighters are pieced together from bases around the globe. Airmen charged with saving lives and Department of Defense assets must meld together quickly.

"The reason that training for firefighters in the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing is so important is because you have firefighters from all around the world with different levels of experience and ages and we have to mold them into a cohesive team," said Senior Master Sgt. Shawn Ricchuito, 379th ECES fire chief. "We have limited time to do that with limited resources. It also builds great team camaraderie and these folks really work [well] together."

At home station, firefighters often specialize in a particular aspect of their job.

"We don't have that luxury here, but we try to aim everybody at what they like to do and put them into that specialty," said Sergeant Morris, a Staten Island, N.Y., native. "Some guys like crash firefighting, some guys like structural firefighting and some like to ride the rescue squad.

"Everybody knows everybody's job, but others know a certain job a little better than everyone else," he said. "Everybody is trained equally and nobody is left behind."

Placing everyone according to their strength has paid dividends to the flight's success.

Since May 2008 the 379th ECES Fire Dawgs have provided support for 111 in-flight emergencies, 24 ground emergencies, 56 medical emergencies and 24 reported fires. In that time frame, the Fire Dawgs also responded to 10 hazardous material incidents and five motor vehicle accidents.

During its current rotation, the 379th ECES fire department quickly neutralized fires saving more than $200 million in damages to aircraft and facilities.

"It's a diverse mission, but we're squared away because we are constantly training and because we know it saves lives," Sergeant Morris said. "[Saving lives is] the main reason we do it. If we train and we know what we're doing when we get on the scene then we're not guessing. Guessing can lead to disastrous outcomes."


Sidebar: Only you can prevent...

The 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron Fire Department is spreading the word about proper fire prevention.

With the help of the fire prevention division, the fire department creates ways to avoid future mishaps.

"We do investigations to determine the cause of the fire," said Master Sgt. Charles Morris, 379th ECES assistant chief of operations. "Once we determine the cause we tell our fire prevention division and they generate appropriate countermeasures."

One such incident involved the $15 million Blatchford-Preston Complex Base Exchange where improperly extinguished cigarette butts caused a walk-in refrigerator to catch fire.

Base personnel must remain vigilant of any fire safety violations. By being a force enabler, millions of dollars will potentially be saved in the future.

"The one thing [base personnel] can do to help is to put their cigarettes out the right way and avoid using restricted items (such as candles and heating surfaces)," Sergeant Morris said. "Air conditioners should also be shut off or set to the lowest possible setting while you are out. If you don't need to have it on, turn it off."

So far, the most prevalent mishaps are electrical fires and smoking in unauthorized areas.

"Please think of what would happen to your unit if you were to lose just one Airman to something that you could have prevented," Sergeant Morris said. "Fires can be prevented with your help."