Photo By Brian Lamar | 403rd Civil Engineer Squadron firefighters attempt to douse a blazing aircraft fire...... read more read more
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KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Dozens of Air Force Reserve firefighters with the 403rd Civil Engineer Squadron worked for hours in the rain and fog at the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport to put out an aircraft engulfed in flames during an exercise April 12.
The fire truck-mounted training was part of a series of annual requirements the 403rd CES Airmen complete each year to stay current on different types of firefighting like structure fires and aircraft fires. As the exercise was concluding for the day, things became a bit more real as the firefighters began looking toward the skies as the type of scenario they had just been training for was potentially going to land right in front of them.
An emergency landing call was made by an F-15 fighter aircraft that had been flying in the area. The reservists paused the exercise and refueled water reserves on their trucks to prepare and respond for the possibility of a real crash and subsequent fire.
"This is the type of thing we are training for and it is coincidence that we are here now. The training is for better helping us mitigate whatever emergency situations we face," said Watson.
Luckily for the pilot, the F-15 landed without a major incident and the firefighters were able to breath a sign of relief and finish their training.
The firefighters, re-energized by having had a brush with a potential real emergency in their training, went back to finish their original mission.
According to Senior Master Sgt. Kermit Watson, the 403rd CES training manager, the scenarios the firefighters run through are a way prep them to extract injured or trapped victims.
They [firefighters] come in and make an initial attack by driving by and aiming a spray system on the fuselage and knock down the fire so they can create an egress path for anyone on the aircraft that needs to be extracted, said Watson.
Most of the firefighters on the scene are experienced and are going through the exercise to refresh their skills, according to Watson.
Although the reservists are refreshing their skills during annual requirements, the meaning behind this routine training is important and may mean the difference between life and death.
This training will help us get a better understanding of what we could see in a real-live situation, said Senior Airman Malcolm Polk, Firefighter crew chief with 403rd CES. "I feel like after this training, I can save lives. I feel this training has prepared me for the scenarios that will help me respond better in the future," said Polk.
| Date Taken: | 04.12.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 12.30.2016 11:43 |
| Story ID: | 219071 |
| Location: | KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, MS, US |
| Web Views: | 25 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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