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SAN DIEGO - Fire danced around the aircraft as a two-man team of Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Marines wielded a high-pressure hose shooting hundreds of gallons of water, suffocating the blazing inferno. Like a trick candle on a child’s birthday cake, the flames burst back to life only to have the ARFF Marines re-attack. The engine from a P-19 primary firefighting truck rumbled in the background.
After the Marines extinguished the blaze, a horn bellowed two long bursts, signaling the end of the exercise. The Marines walked toward inspired and awed college students as two new Marines waited for the aircraft to reignite.
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar opened its doors to members of the Palomar College fire club, a club for students interested in careers as first responders, for an exclusive look at ARFF training with the Mobile Aircraft Firefighting Training Device at the flight line here. The MAFTD is a remote-controlled stainless steel mock aircraft rigged with propane gas used to train ARFF Marines on different types of aircraft fires.
The way they train is brilliant, said Su Coy, the Palomar College fire club chief.
Along with the MAFTD training, the ARFF Marines took the fire club members on a tour of the fire station and gave an inside look at everything from the fire trucks to the dispatch tower, which is a room manned by at least two ARFF Marines that overlooks the flight line.
“[I’m] happy to see these gentlemen do work that goes to benefit us in the long run,” said Coy.
And the ARFF Marines were happy to provide a unique aspect of the firefighting career field.
“It’s pretty cool, the fire club can come out and get a perspective on the different jobs they could get into,” said Sgt. John Anderson, an ARFF senior rescueman.
The last two-man team strafed the engulfed aircraft as the fire club members looked on. The Marines doused the flames with no fear of the heat bearing down on them. As the last of the flames flickered, the horn of the P-19 echoed across the flight line to signal the end of training.
| Date Taken: | 11.02.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 11.02.2010 13:08 |
| Story ID: | 59291 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 116 |
| Downloads: | 6 |
This work, ARFF Marines bring the heat, by Sgt Ryan Carpenter, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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