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380AEW Article

Deployed fire dogs respond to, extinguish structure fire

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeremy Larlee
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
Southwest Asia --  A group of fire fighters from the 380th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron put their training to the test June 30, when they responded to a structure fire at a non-disclosed base here.

Their quick response to the blaze minimized damage to a bathroom cadillac and prevented the fire from spreading to the wing headquarters building located about 20 feet away.

Tech. Sgt. Mark Fitzgibbons, battalion chief for firehouse 2 and deployed from the 886th Civil Engineer Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, said he was impressed with the way his Airmen responded to the emergency.

"I'm very proud of my troops and I have been since we arrived," Sergeant Fitzgibbons said. "We really have gelled as a team and we are ready for anything."

The sergeant, who grew up in Buford, S.C., said the situation was also mitigated by the fact that the structure was primarily made of metal.

As the firefighters were battling the blaze, Sergeant Fitzgibbons was directing his Airmen; including his driver Airman 1st Class John McCurley deployed from the 60th Civil Engineer Squadron , Travis Air Force Base, Calif.

Airman McCurley said that he has been here for two months and that he was excited for the opportunity to use his training. He said that the majority of the calls that the fire fighters respond to do not have a fire. They take every call seriously because there is a chance one will lead to a real emergency.

"The call for the structure fire came in as a weird smell," Airman McCurley said. "We drove to the scene and at first I didn't see anything. After getting a bit closer I was able to see dark black smoke pouring out of the facility."

The Airman, a native of Peoria, Ariz., said his adrenaline started pumping at that moment because he knew this incident was a real emergency and his crew would be in danger.

"To actually do this and do it so close to a building of such high importance was exhilarating," said Airman McCurley. "It is intense when there is a fire and you see your friends rushing in there to put it out. You don't know how everything is going to pan out until you get there. It was great to see us get together and handle the situation."

Airman McCurley said that the large amount of time the fire fighters train as a team is vital to their success.

"In that situation we need to communicate with as few words as possible, once you get the mask on you can't hear anything so you need to be able to communicate nonverbally."

Maj. Mark Donnithorne, commander of the 380th ECES, said he was proud of how his fire fighters performed.

"We have an outstanding team of fire fighters here in the 380th," said Major Donnithorne. "Every one of them is a true professional and I'm proud to wear their badge."