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Firefighters meld passion, practice together in AOR

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Vincent Borden
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Staff Sgt. Brent Knodle lives and breathes firefighting. When he's not training for emergencies at the 133rd Airlift Wing in St. Paul, Minn., he's performing firefighting duties with one of the city's fire department. Even here, while deployed to U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, his schedule allows him enough time to hit the gym twice a day and perform firefighting exercises before resting for another 48 hour shift.

Sergeant Knodle says he does it to stay in shape. So that he can "be ready at all times." A lot of his free time is devoted to that, in addition to his training on the job.

Firefighting has consumed his life; he has developed a passion for the job and the lifestyle. And he's not the only one. The department, which is split into stations on the flightline and the main structural area of the base, touts over 35 equally motivated Guardsman. Many of them have been involved in firefighting all their lives.

That sort of involvement is something that makes the firefighters here so dedicated to performing the best job they possibly can. When they aren't responding to an emergency, they are training for every scenario they could encounter, every situation that poses a life-threatening danger to others, and by extension of the nature of the job, to themselves.

Chief Master Sgt. Mark Stuckey, 386th ECES fire department chief, is a combination of traits of many of the firefighters deployed here, the sum of many of their experiences and proclivities. Chief Stuckey has been involved in firefighting for 24 years. His father was a volunteer fireman for the city he now works for, and his brother is a fireman as well.

He knows of the bond that firemen share, and knows what inspires them to come in the field.

"A lot of their relatives are firemen," Chief Stuckey said of the Airmen he supervises. "They grew up with it, they know it and they love it. It's something they want to do."

He also knows the essentials to making them better at it.

"We do a lot of training here," said the chief. "One of our goals during this [deployment] is for them to complete over 150 career development course tests while they are here."

Chief Stuckey explained that in addition to the training that occurs every day on the main base and flightline, firefighters have numerous volumes of CDC material to complete for both the 5-level and 7-level skill upgrades. The goal is for Airmen to have a volume completed every couple of weeks, which the department meets regularly. It also has a CDC pass rate of 100 percent.

In addition to the book work, the simulated training puts firemen in scenarios they may actually be faced with in the event of a building fire or aircraft crash.

"There's something going on every day," said Chief Stuckey, a native of Tulsa, Okla. "There's not an aircraft or building on fire every day, so you have to practice that. And if there's not a true emergency, we're training. We're doing exercises and we're studying." This is his fifth deployment to the U.S. Central Command AOR.

Training differs between the two stations, as their missions require different procedures and equipment. For instance, firefighters on the flightline have fire trucks that are equipped differently from the fire trucks on the main part of base, because of the differences between aircraft firefighting and structural firefights.

In the case of emergencies, the two stations will support each other as well. In the case of tent fires, the flightline fire department will bring up trucks to assist with the blazes, which can spread quickly. Likewise, a structural fire down on the flightline will prompt firemen from the main part of base to assist with the extinguishing of the fire in the building.

According to Chief Stuckey, because of the different missions here and the numerous bases Airmen come from for duty, there is a gradual learning curve for some Airmen not used to some of the nuances of aircraft or structural fire extinguishing.

"Sometimes [Airmen] have to come in here and have to learn some things," the chief said. "There's always people that are familiar with this aspect of the job you may not know and you learn from them, and maybe you have something to bring to the table they don't know about. You mesh together. But on a basic level, it's all the same. Put the water on the fire. That's what it's all about."

It is here, while learning the details, differences and particulars of procedures and firefighting methods, that the firefighters develop a strong sense of camaraderie among each other. They have to. Their lives depend on it.

"Everyone's coming here from different departments, so you really have to get to know each other," said Sergeant Knodle, a native of Lakeville, Minn. This is his third deployment. "Then you get to a point where you actually feel comfortable with them and know that all the guys that you're out there with are trained.

"You have complete faith in them to know they'll do their job and you'll do your job," he continued. "If everyone does their part, then it should be a safe procedure. So there's a lot of trust that happens with the guys you're working with."

The lifestyle of the firefighters seems to contribute to the bond between them on an almost daily basis. The firemen live together and work together, and they often hang out with one another when not on duty. The trust they develop among each other make them numb to the dangers they face daily, many who talk about it in a matter of fact way.

Many don't consider themselves to be special. Even when dragging bodies out of burning aircraft or buildings with 75 pounds of gear on in 120 degree heat, they don't consider themselves to be heroes.

For them, they are doing what they love.

Tech. Sgt. Scott Sweno talks about firefighting with that feeling. Introduced to the profession when he was a child by his friend's father, an assistant fire chief of the city's fire department, Sergeant Sweno grew to love the sights and sounds of the trucks and the gear. As soon as he could, he signed up to be a volunteer firefighter in his town before joining the military and continuing his passion there.

Eighteen years later, Sergeant Sweno still has that same fascination. He recently reenlisted for another six years, and he said he's looking forward to them. For him, the decades of service have never been about heroics.

"I like being able to do a job not a lot of people are interested in doing," said Sergeant Sweno, a 386th ECES firefighter deployed from the 133rd ANG. He is a native of Minneapolis, Minn. "Being a firefighter, you have that opportunity to make a difference in someone else's life."

"They're at their end by watching their vehicle or house burn, and being able to put a positive aspect on it for them I don't look at as being heroic at all. It's a love."