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Exercise trains firefighters to neutralize threat

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Stefanie Torres
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Firefighters from the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron were covered from head to toe in neon-green protective suits Nov. 12 as part of a training scenario involving potentially dangerous chemicals at an undisclosed air base here.

The scenario was staged to support a Department of Defense program that certifies firefighters as hazardous-material response technicians, explained Tech. Sgt. Matthew Degase, a 386th ECES firefighter. The program, which also includes five days of classroom instruction, requires Airmen to don air-tight gear, identify unknown chemicals, follow detailed response procedures and complete a thorough decontamination process.

One of the biggest challenges firefighters face when responding to hazardous materials is the HAZMAT suit itself, Sergeant Degase said.

"Your dexterity is gone, your visibility is reduced and the mental stress from being inside that suit while working with hazardous material is tough," he said.

Such challenges make regular training exercises important to improve familiarity with the gear, he added. Another significant benefit is the teamwork the exercises help build with other units on base.

Emergency responders from the 386th Expeditionary Medical Group and the 386th ECES Emergency Management Flight played a significant role in the Nov. 12 event, for example.

Medical technicians ensured that firefighters had stable vital signs before and after the scenario, while emergency management technicians, who are specially trained in HAZMAT-response techniques, developed and executed the scenario to provide the most realistic training environment possible.

"We set up a simulation we learned from our school house and put it together here at our deployed location," said Senior Master Sgt. Lorne Peterson, the 386th ECES Emergency Management Flight chief, who is deployed from the Delaware Air National Guard's 166th Airlift Wing. "This was a fantastic joint vector with fire department and medical personnel."

Staff Sgt. Natalie Gillett, a 386th ECES emergency management technician deployed from the Illinois Air Guard's 182nd Airlift Wing, said the training team wanted the firefighters to respond in a disciplined, systematic way.

"We were looking to see if they made a plan to go in, had a response set-up and could demonstrate how they would sample the contaminants," she said. "They were pretty well trained before they went in and had a good idea of what they wanted to do."

Sergeant Peterson agreed.

"They had some young Airmen in there who have never done this before, and they did a great job," he said.