Photo By 94th Airlift Wing | Airmen from the 319th Civil Engineer Squadron extinguish a fire Jan 1, 2023, during a...... read more read more
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GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- While most people plan to spend New Year’s Eve celebrating, members of the 319th Civil Engineer Squadron fire department spent their night fighting a mobile home fire during a mutual aid response with the Emerado Rural Volunteer Fire Department.
Providing mutual aid – an agreement in which a fire department helps a neighboring department in a time of need – further continues to strengthen the bond between a base and its community.
Recently, this partnership was showcased when the 319th CES fire department responded to a call for assistance at the Acks Mobile Home Park in Emerado, a community located just outside of the base.
Senior Airman Tevis Holi, a driver operator for the 319th CES fire department, was at the station when the call from dispatch came in over the public address system.
“Anytime we receive a call, we treat it with the same sense of urgency,” Holi said. “We immediately verified the location on the map, hopped in our fire engine and took off.”
The crew arrived at the scene in just under five minutes.
“Pulling up to the street, I remember seeing cop cars on both sides of the road,” Holi said. “Law enforcement was focused on crowd control and the Emerado fire department was positioned just past the trailer that was on fire.”
Together, both fire departments assessed the situation and set up a plan to extinguish the remaining fire.
“After discussing with Emerado, we were able to figure out the positioning for our truck,” Holi said. “Law enforcement moved their vehicles so we could get through, and we immediately set up to start fighting the fire.”
Members from 319th CES fire department quickly set up a handline – a fire hose that can reach up to 200 ft from the truck – while Holi started the pump, sending water flowing through the hose.
The initial operations commenced with both fire departments actively fighting the fire until Emerado ran into an issue with their truck, causing the 319th CES fire department to immediately call in for backup.
“I was actually in my car when I got the call,” said Airman 1st Class Trysten White, a driver operator for the 319th CES fire department. “I immediately drove to the station, quickly threw on my gear and hopped in our tanker.”
White, along with other 319th CES fire department crew members, arrived with the tanker and provided the backup source of water to refuel the truck that was already on the scene.
“I started circulating water into the truck so they could continue fighting the fire,” White said. “I ended up taking control of the handline with my crew chief.”
Assessing a structural fire is extremely important due to unknown factors that can be within the fire, such as electrical hazards, cooking equipment, flammable liquids, ordinary combustibles or combustible metals, White explained.
“Luckily, the trailer was a good distance away from any other trailer, so we didn’t have to provided exposure protection to stop potential spread,” Holi said. “We did have to be cautious about the potentials toxins and liquids that could potentially be inside the trailer. We also made sure the electrical systems were shut off as well before using any sort of water.”
After the crew successfully put out the fire, they went in with a heat gun, measuring hot spots to ensure sure there were not potential areas that could reignite or cause more damage.
One of the last things the 319th CES fire department did was mark potential items, or areas that could be evidence.
“Salvage and overhaul is the phase in which we mark anything that might need to be investigated,” Holi said. “We make sure that nothing comes into contact with what we have marked. That way it doesn’t impede an investigation.”
Due to how close the 319th CES fire department is to local communities and departments, they are constantly given opportunities to provide and give back.
“I think it’s extremely important that we help each other out,” Holi said. “Especially being so close to one another, if something happens, we can immediately respond. We are always going to make sure we help each other out.”
| Date Taken: | 02.14.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 07.05.2023 12:09 |
| Story ID: | 448564 |
| Location: | GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, NORTH DAKOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 23 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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