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Beale firefighter, Gilroy native, supports fire protection efforts for Southwest Asia wing

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Stukol
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Two years ago, Airman 1st Class Kevin Collins left the "Garlic Capital of the World" and joined the Air Force. That's the moniker his hometown of Gilroy, Calif., has for the amount of garlic a factory there processes every year. However, he said all the garlic in the world can't change the importance of what he's doing while deployed as an Air Force firefighter with the 380th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron fire department.

"The support from home is what really keeps us going while being gone," said Airman Collins, who is deployed from the 9th Civil Engineer Squadron fire department at Beale Air Force Base, Calif. "We cannot ever thank them for what they do for us. They have helped us win this fight and aid in accomplishing this mission more than we can express. My thanks goes to all of them."

As an emergency responder, Airman Collins and his fellow firefighters are responsible for protecting thousands of deployed personnel and billions of dollars of Air Force assets from fire. He said they complete an important mission every day.

"Without fire protection, an emergency event would cause a great risk to the mission," Airman Collins said. "This would cause a domino effect that could ultimately result in the loss of lives."

Air Force firefighters like Airman Collins, according to their career field description, are required to plan, organize and direct fire protection activities. They are also required to be knowledgeable on fire safety and prevention and capable of fire response to control and extinguish aircraft, structure, wildland and miscellaneous fires. To do all those tasks, firefighters also have to be capable to drive or operate and be certified on numerous types of fire response vehicles and equipment.

At Airman Collins' deployed location, the main responsibility of firefighters is to provide fire protection for U.S. forces and assets. They respond to both medical and fire emergencies for both structural and aircraft. In the event of an aircraft fire, firefighters have a two-minute response time to make it on scene. Once on scene, they establish a water supply from an emergency water tank and draft, or vacuum, the water from the tank for other crews.

Other skills Air Force firefighters like Airman Collins are required to hold include conducting and evaluating training on specialized fire protection equipment and procedures. They also perform inspections and organizational maintenance on fire protection vehicles, equipment and protective clothing. They manage and operate fire alarm communications centers and support the electrical power production Airmen with resetting aircraft arresting systems.

In joining the military more than two years ago, Airman Collins said it was the right thing for him to do.

"The privilege to serve the United States military has given me a rewarding sense of pride, purpose and accomplishment," Airman Collins said. "It has been awe-inspiring to witness many facets of the military life from the equipment, to the people to the process -- both at home and across the world."

The 380th ECES is a unit of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing. The wing is home to the KC-10 Extender, U-2 Dragon Lady, E-3 Sentry and RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft. The wing is comprised of four groups and 12 squadrons and the wing's deployed mission includes air refueling, surveillance, and reconnaissance in support of overseas contingency operations in Southwest Asia. The 380th AEW supports operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.