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    Instructors Ensure Firefighting Skills on the Seas

    Instructors Ensure Firefighting Skills on the Seas

    Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Cohen Young | USS Port Royal Senior Chief Patrick Adams of Smithville, N.C., looks for his size...... read more read more

    PEARL HARBOR, HI, UNITED STATES

    10.21.2010

    Story by Master Sgt. Cohen Young 

    DMA Pacific - Hawaii Media Bureau   

    JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – Instructors at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii train sailors from the Port Royal on how to fight fires at sea on Oct. 21.

    The Engineering and Fire Fighting School located at the Center for Naval Engineering Learning Site Pearl Harbor trains five thousand people yearly in one of their four fire fighting classes according to Chief Warrant Officer 3 Kenneth Bates, a native of Vineland, N.J., and the officer in charge of the Engineering and Fire Fighting School.

    “We have four fire fighting courses that we teach here in addition to several other classes that we teach here to include fuel testing, gauge calibration, hatch water door maintenance and several other miscellaneous courses to total 17 courses in all,” said Bates.

    The school instructs people from San Diego, Guam, Japan and also trains Army in their various courses.

    “We aren’t just Navy, we train everyone,” said Bates.

    All sailors are required to be certified to put out fires according to Navy regulations.

    “When there’s a fire out at sea, there isn’t anyone coming to put the fire out,” said Bates. “We have to do it,” he added.

    “Civilian fire personnel aren’t geared for multi-structure accesses and having to combat fire and flooding and the other things that can occur on a ship. Damage on a ship can last for days, but the battle on the ship has to be won in comparison to our civilian firefighters where if the fire has gotten out of control, they can let it burn after evacuating everyone…we don’t have that option on a ship,” said Bates.

    USS Port Royal shipboard crews recently learned how to contain machinery fires during a one-day course taught at the school. For many of the crewmembers, it was their first time fighting a fire since basic training.

    “This class is a lot better than what I experienced in boot camp,” said USS Port Royal Seaman Joshua Fischer, information systems technician apprentice. I could actually feel the heat this time and it overwhelmed me at first, but I then settled down and got with my shipmates and put the fire out,” said Fischer, a native of Memphis, Tenn.

    The instructors stress teamwork throughout the course.

    “We teach them how important teamwork is in fighting a fire”, said Fire Instructor, Petty Officer 2nd class Alvin Dogojo, fire instructor.

    We’re able to give students that real feeling of fighting a fire here,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Alvin Dogojo, machinist mate, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y.

    “Most students will never have the opportunity to fight a fire and I hope they never have to, but after having this class, they will be able to if they need to,” said Dogojo.

    The school puts the students in scenarios and lets them practice getting through those scenarios and through that training, they become accustomed on how to react in that situation.

    “It’s all instinctive,” said Dogojo. “If you aren’t properly trained, then you won’t know how to react when faced with a real fire because you’ll panic, but it you’re well trained, you will know what to do,” added Dogojo, the current Sailor of the Year for his command.

    “This was a great learning experience for me today because I had never done this before,” said USS Port Royal Seaman Elicia Guillory, gunners mate apprentice, of Sacramento, Calif. This class reinforced teamwork because without a good team, the fire won’t be put out,“ added Guillory.

    “After dealing with wild hoses and the intense heat during this class, I felt like I will be prepared if I have to actually fight a fire,” said Guillory.

    It’s great seeing the reaction of the students after they complete the trainer because they are so excited because they thought it was hot and rigorous, but they made it through and that’s what makes me happy at the end of the day,” added Dogojo.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 10.21.2010
    Date Posted: 10.24.2010 18:51
    Story ID: 58707
    Location: PEARL HARBOR, HI, US

    Web Views: 131
    Downloads: 4

    PUBLIC DOMAIN