Photo By Senior Airman Elizabeth Baker | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Chayce Verity, 86th Civil Engineer Squadron executive...... read more read more
Subscribe
Sirens blare as a fire truck pulls in to Ramstein base housing around 3 a.m. U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Chayce Verity, 86th Civil Engineer Squadron fire protection supervisor, and his team jump out of the truck. Every second counts as Verity takes in the scene, piecing it together with the information he received from dispatch. How many are in the house? Where is the safest entry point? What are the dangers to his team? Every emergency is different, and his firefighters depend on him to call the shots.
Scenes like this were part of Verity’s job as station crew chief at Fire House 2, the Kaiserslautern Military Community Fire and Emergency Service’s busiest fire station. Verity is an Ohio native who has been serving for seven years. He did not join the Air Force to become a firefighter, but fell in love with the career after he was selected for it.
Until recently, when he moved into a position as executive assistant to the 86th CES commander, Verity supervised a five-person engine company. He used his range of knowledge and experience to train and mentor them, as well as to problem-solve for each emergency scenario he responded to.
“Nothing ever goes quite as planned, so you have to be willing to adapt,” Verity said. “You can’t get tunnel vision and go running in with blinders on—that’s the biggest thing as a crew chief. All my guys are looking up to me to make that decision. I have to be the one looking at the whole picture and saying ‘Okay, this is what we need to do,’ whether it’s a fire, hazardous materials or medical call.”
Speed is of the essence for emergency responders like Verity.
“When we get a call we have to get to the truck, dressed and moving out in under one minute, regardless of what we were doing,” Verity said. “If you’re sleeping, cooking—doesn’t matter. Everyone stops immediately and sprints for the truck.”
After getting to the truck, the firefighters have five minutes to make it to the scene of distress.
“Firefighting is tough,” Verity said. “It’s mentally and physically challenging and it has us on our feet all the time.”
For Verity, the challenge is a positive part of the job.
“It’s really rewarding; you get to see a tangible result from our work,” Verity said.
Over the past five months, Verity has helped to mitigate 33 emergencies, protecting the KMC’s most populated areas, such as the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center, commissary and base housing areas.
His accomplishments stood out, and Verity was selected as executive assistant.
As an executive assistant, Verity anticipates getting a different set of skills to impact the Air Force in new ways as he moves forward with his career.
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.19.2020 05:12 |
| Story ID: | 372432 |
| Location: | RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, SSgt Verity: commanding fire rescue, by SrA Elizabeth Baker, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
