Naval Submarine Base New London, Naval Submarine Support Facility host fire response exercise with regional responders

Photo By Chief Petty Officer Joshua Karsten | 211110-N-GR655-121 GROTON, Conn. (November 10, 2021) – Firefighters from the city of New London, Conn. arrive on station during a large-scale fire response exercise on board Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn., Nov. 10, 2021. The exercise, hosted by Naval Submarine Support Facility (NSSF) New London, USS Cheyenne (SSN 773), and base leadership, offered more than a dozen regional firefighter and first responder organizations the opportunity to experience shipboard firefighting and Navy best practices. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Petty Officer Joshua Karsten/RELEASED)  

GROTON, CT, UNITED STATES

11.10.2021

Courtesy Story

Submarine Readiness Squadron (SRS) 32

GROTON, Connecticut – Naval Submarine Base New London (SUBASE) and Naval Submarine Support Facility New London (NSSF) hosted more than a dozen regional fire and rescue organizations Wednesday, Nov. 10, for a large-scale fire response exercise at the Groton, Connecticut, Navy base.

During the exercise, Navy firefighters and Sailors worked together with civilian firefighters and first responders to combat a notional major fire aboard the Los Angeles-class submarine USS Cheyenne (SSN 773), pierside at the base.

The exercise provided these civilian firefighters and first responders not only with an orientation of the base and submarine but also with experience working alongside Navy counterparts.

“Our focus throughout has been to change the mindset of submarine crews when it comes to responding to emergencies on the waterfront,” said Capt. Daniel Rossler, commanding officer of NSSF. “Although they’re resilient, the submariners do not have to do everything themselves. These regional firefighters and emergency responders have the training, equipment and expertise to help our base fire department and submarine crews, and it’s important for us to practice and get to know each other.”

Community fire departments were instrumental in supporting Navy firefighters and the crew during a 2012 fire aboard the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Miami (SSN 755) at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine.

Over several weeks before the exercise, the SUBASE Fire Department and NSSF had hosted more than 125 local firefighters and first responders in visits to the base waterfront and familiarization tours aboard a submarine. More than 70 local firefighters and first responders participated in the exercise with USS Cheyenne.

“It was really amazing to see the seamless integration of the firefighters here today,” said SUBASE Commanding Officer, Capt. Ken Curtin. “When I walked onto the pier, I couldn’t tell who was a base firefighter and who was a firefighter from a department in one of the nearby communities. It was inspiring to see how well these brave men and women worked together.”

The exercise emergency response included efforts from the establishment of an incident command post and staging areas to the creation of logistics, accountability, and medical treatment stations.

The event also involved the shared use of a computerized personnel tracking system employed by many community firefighting organizations to best maintain awareness of which personnel were actively onboard the submarine during the different phases of the exercise.

“I cannot thank our mutual aid partners and local firefighters and first responders enough for their generous contributions of time, effort, and training,” said SUBASE Fire Chief Thomas A. Clapsadle Jr.
“This joint training opportunity has been like no other. We’ve all learned a great deal, shared some best practices, and gained an improved familiarity with each other outside of the context of a real emergency.”

In addition to the SUBASE Fire Department and USS Cheyenne, the community fire and rescue organizations who took part in the exercise included:

City of Groton Fire Department
City of New London Fire Department
Mystic Fire Department
Poquonnock Bridge Fire Department
Old Mystic Fire Department
Gales Ferry Fire Department
City of Norwich Fire Department
Groton Long Point Fire Department
Mohegan Tribal Fire Department
Electric Boat Fire Department
Groton Ambulance
Mashantucket Pequot Fire Department
Waterford Fire Department
DEMHS Region 4

Naval Submarine Base New London was designated the Navy’s first, permanent continental Submarine Base in June 1916. Today, the base occupies more than 680 acres straddling the communities of Groton and Ledyard, Connecticut and serves as home to more than 70 tenant commands and 16 fast-attack submarines.

Naval Submarine Support Facility New London provides waterfront maintenance support for Groton-based submarines.

Fast-attack submarines, like Cheyenne, are multi-mission platforms enabling five of the six Navy maritime strategy core capabilities – sea control, power projection, forward presence, maritime security and deterrence. They are designed to excel in anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship warfare, strike warfare, special operations, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, irregular warfare and mine warfare. Fast-attack submarines project power ashore with special operations forces and Tomahawk cruise missiles in the prevention or preparation of regional crises.

• Date Taken: 11.10.2021
• Date Posted: 11.10.2021 15:35
• Story ID: 409155
• Location: GROTON, CT, US