A day in the life: 379th Firefighters train to fight.

Published Sept. 29, 2007
By Staff Sgt. Jason Barebo
379 Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- With the temperature already reaching 105 degrees at 10 a.m., firefighters from the 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron here donned their fire retardant suits, adding another 40-50 degrees of heat, to perform an exercise in Coalition Compound Wednesday.

The first exercise of the day was a mock fire call in Building 22000. Firefighters pulled up to the building and quickly stretched hoses from their truck. Tech. Sgt. Jason Barnard and Airman 1st Class Trevor Nadile suited up and carefully to entered the building. Their mission was to reach the simulated fire's point of origin, extinguish it and perform a room to room search for people still in the building while ensuring there are no other threats.

After putting on their suits, donning their oxygen masks and helmets Airman Nadile entered the dorm first with Sergeant Barnard backing him up, both carrying in a fully charged fire hose. Once they reached the source of the simulated fire, they radioed in their current status and what procedures they would follow in a real-world situation.
Following the termination of the exercise, the crew talked with their senior leaders on what they learned and what they could improve on.

"We do these exercises so these guys can learn," said Senior Master Sgt. Dale Hankins. "The only way they are going to know what to do here is to practice."

Responding to calls at home station is a little different, Sergeant Barnard said. Deployed from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, he said structures are different, buildings are more open than the dorms here, even the temperature can make things run different.
"I never thought I would say I miss the Alaska winter," Sergeant Barnard joked.

The operations tempo here is even different, he said. "The operations tempo here is much higher here than it is at Eielson."

Typically a day at the firehouse begins with roll call followed by an operational check of vehicles and equipment to ensure they are ready for use when called for. The 379th firefighters also perform some sort of training, evidenced by the exercise, in addition to the various real-world calls they have throughout the day.

"We usually get about 11-12 calls a day," said Master Sgt. Charles Burke, 379th ECES Fire Department assistant fire chief. Several calls are minor incidents such as the one Sergeant Burke responded to Wednesday.

A dorm resident had plugged her air conditioner into the wall outlet instead of the ceiling. Unable to handle the electrical load, the wall outlet melted the power converter and started a small fire that could have brought the whole building down in flames.

Luckily, the residents were in the room and able to stop the fire from spreading and immediately notified the fire department.

Sergeant Burke arrived on-scene just as things began to calm down. The damage was isolated to a melted converter, the wall outlet itself and burn marks reaching toward the ceiling from the outlet.

"These dorms are tinderboxes," Sergeant Hankins said. "This is one of our primary missions here."

Once the emergency was terminated, the members of the 379th Fire Department returned to their station for training.

Those assigned to Station 1 performed an operational check Wednesday afternoon of one of their fire engines and a tanker to ensure the fire engine water pumps worked properly and was also able to pull more water form the tanker.

In addition to completing operational checks, the afternoon training also allowed them to spray down their vehicles to keep them clean. Firefighters also take part in group physical training time and facility clean up.

At the end of the day, the base populace can rest easy knowing that the 379th Fire Department is here to provide quick response to fire and medical emergencies.

"It's hard to narrow down the best aspect of this job," Sergeant Barnard said. "Most of the time when someone calls, it's because they are having some sort of traumatic event in their life and need help.

"Knowing that your actions may have saved someine's life or Air Force property is one of the best parts of our job."