ARFF Marines christen new burn area with blazing fire

Photo By Cpl. Claudio Martinez | Cpl. Lance B. Ladwig (Right), Sgt. Joshua R. Teaff and Lance Cpl. Gerald R. Clark, Station Aircraft Rescue Firefighters, ignite their newly constructed burn area located at the south end of the old flightline next to Penny Lake here to conduct fire-training exercises June 3. The location of the new burn area allows the ARFF Marines to conduct their training without interrupting flight operations at the newer flightline.  

IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JAPAN

06.16.2011

Story by Cpl. Claudio Martinez 

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni

Station Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Marines conducted a training exercise at their newly constructed burn area located at the south end of the old flight line next to Penny Lake here June 3.

The new burn area took approximately seven months to complete and will be used temporarily until construction on the permanent burn area is completed. Date for completion on the future burn area is still pending.

“(The new burn area) is a little more environmentally safe than the last set up,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Nickell, an ARFF training staff non-commissioned officer. “It also doesn’t interfere as much with the station’s (aerial operations).”

The old burn area was located near Building 5119, next to the new flight line and interfered with flight operations when it was used. The black smoke stacks, which reach several hundred feet into the air, reduced visibility making it dangerous for aircraft in the area. To avoid creating dangerous conditions for the flying aircraft, ARFF was forced to schedule their training on weekends.

The location of the new burn area now allows ARFF to conduct their training during the week without interrupting the station’s aerial operations. The burn area is also equipped with a new fuel/water separator that cleans the water used during training before it is pumped back into the sea. It is also equipped with a secondary containment system, which pumps the water into Penny Lake to protect the surrounding environment in the unlikely event the fuel/water separator should fail.

The training done at the new burn area is compliant with Naval Air System Command 80-R-0014, Naval Air Training Operating Procedures Standardization. NAVAIR 80-R-0014 NATOPS is a program, which sets standards the ARFF Marines are required to meet in order to be ready in the event of an aircraft mishap.

“We want to beat these safety rules into their head while they are out here and allow them to make the small mistakes here,” said Nickell. “That way, they won’t make those mistakes in an actual emergency. They will be able to execute perfectly when they get out there and handle an actual emergency.”

ARFF conducts night and day fire training weekly in order to keep their skills sharp. The training involves filling the burn area with water and fuel and lighting it on fire. The ARFF Marines are then required to put out the fire using the various tools and techniques at their disposal. The Marines are also tasked with safely reaching an empty capsule in the middle of the burn area, which stands in as a fallen aircraft.

Sgt. Joshua Teaff, an ARFF Marine has participated in several fire training exercises and now stands in to watch the overall safety of the exercise.

“This (fire training) is just like a real fuel fire,” said Teaff. “That fire is going to go where it wants. No one is going to turn that fire off except (the ARFF Marines).”

Teaff said while the regular fire training keeps their firefighting skills sharp, it teaches the younger Marines that the hand-line at the end of their water hose is like their M-16, and it’s how they fight their battles.

For some of the ARFF Marines using the new burn area, it was their first experience out of the schoolhouse fighting a real fire. For Lance Cpl. Andrew Pepe, an ARFF Marine who has been here for five months, it was something both new and different. Before joining the Marines, Pepe was a firefighter in New York. While he isn’t inexperienced, he considers what he learned in the burn area fire training invaluable.

“It’s a whole different animal,” said Pepe. “It’s nothing alike. I just had structural fires. The way you fight fires here is totally different.”
Pepe said what he experienced during the training was more unpredictable and challenging than what he experienced fighting structural fires.

ARFF is currently planning to conduct more fire training at the new burn area nearly every Friday and occasionally on Saturday nights.

• Date Taken: 06.16.2011
• Date Posted: 06.15.2011 22:03
• Story ID: 72153
• Location: IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JP