Photo By Staff Sgt. Forde Nesteby | U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Marshall Martinez, a native of California and a combat...... read more read more
Subscribe
CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa, Japan — U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Marshall Martinez rushed to the aid of occupants inside a burning hotel in Chatan, Okinawa, Japan, during the early morning hours of Aug. 15, 2026.
Martinez, a native of California and a combat engineer with III Marine Expeditionary Force Support Battalion, III MEF Information Group, was walking home after an evening out with his girlfriend when they noticed a building on fire.
With the building already on fire, Martinez entered the structure and began waking occupants, urging them to evacuate.
“My initial thought was, it’s early in the morning, there are probably people sleeping,” said Martinez. “If I had my family in there, I would want someone to wake me up to get them out of the fire.”
After helping alert the occupants, Martinez and his girlfriend moved to a safe distance and contacted Japanese and U.S. emergency services.
Believing everyone had made it out, they continued to wait for emergency responders to arrive. Then, Martinez and other bystanders noticed a flashing light coming from an area of the building.
Someone was still inside.
Martinez returned to the building and, with the help of others, grabbed a fire extinguisher and attempted to suppress the flames. When that proved unsuccessful, they broke a window in an attempt to reach the remaining occupant, who was unconscious.
By then, the building’s entrance was engulfed in flames, and the heat and smoke surrounding the window made continuing through that route increasingly dangerous.
“If I stay in here, I’m going to pass out and become a casualty too,” said Martinez, recalling the conditions around the window.
Rather than continue through an unsafe point of entry, Martinez began looking for another way to reach the trapped occupant — a thought process familiar to him as a combat engineer.
Combat engineers are trained to conduct breaching operations and identify alternate points of entry when their primary route is inaccessible. Martinez said that training helped guide his decisions as conditions around the building continued to deteriorate.
“I can’t go through the door to get the person,” said Martinez. “Let’s try the window, and then, okay, the window is not working. Let’s try the wall.”
Martinez and the others assisting him began prying open the side of the building with a wooden pry bar. Drawing from his experience and training, including an urban breachers course, Martinez recognized that the direction they were attempting to pry the structure open would not work and stepped in to redirect their efforts.
The wooden bar eventually snapped, but Martinez continued working with his hands until they were able to open the side of the structure.
Emergency responders arrived as Martinez and the others breached the side of the building. Fire department personnel then entered the structure and removed the final occupant. Martinez said he watched as they removed the individual from the building.
For Martinez, his actions that morning reflected both his training and a simple belief that standing by was not an option.
“We need to do something. We can’t just stand there and watch,” said Martinez.
Looking back on the incident, Martinez said he was grateful he and the others were there when the fire began.
“It could have been much worse if we weren’t in the area to wake people up,” said Martinez. “They could have just been asleep.”
When asked what message he would give to other Marines faced with a similar situation, Martinez kept it simple.
“Don’t be a bystander,” said Martinez. “Jump toward action.”
【沖縄・キャンプ・ハンセン】
2026年8月15日未明、沖縄県北谷町のホテルで火災が発生し、米海兵隊のマーシャル・マルティネス伍長が建物内に取り残された宿泊客の救助に奔走した。
マルティネス伍長はカリフォルニア州出身で、第3海兵遠征軍情報群支援大隊に所属する戦闘工兵。当時、恋人と帰宅途中、建物から火が出ているのを発見した。
建物がすでに炎に包まれる中、マルティネス伍長は建物内に入り、宿泊客を起こして避難を呼びかけた。
「まだ早朝だったので、寝ている人がいるかもしれないと思った。もし自分の家族が同じ状況に直面したら、同じことをしてほしいと思う」と振り返った。
宿泊客への避難の呼びかけを終えた後、マルティネス伍長と恋人は安全な場所まで移動し、日本と米国の消防に通報した。
全員が避難したと思い、消防の到着を待っていたところ、マルティネス伍長らは建物の一角から点滅する光が出ていることに気づいた。
建物内には、まだ1人が取り残されていた。
マルティネス伍長は再び建物へ向かい、周囲の人たちとともに消火器を持って火を消そうとした。しかし、消火は困難だったため、窓を割って、意識を失っていた人物の救出を試みた。
ところが、建物の出入口はすでに炎に覆われ、窓の周辺にも激しい熱と煙が充満していたため、そこから進入するのは危険な状況になっていた。
「このまま中にいたら、自分も意識を失ってしまう」と判断し、別の進入経路を探した。
戦闘工兵は、建物などの障害物を突破する手順や、通常の進入経路が使えない場合に別の進入口を確保する訓練を受けている。マルティネス伍長は、こうした訓練で培った経験を生かし、現場の状況に応じて救出方法を判断した。
「ドアから入って助けることはできない。なら窓を試そう。それも無理なら、壁を試そう」 マルティネス伍長らは木製のバールを使い、建物の側面をこじ開けようとしたが無理なことに気づき、都市部での建物突破訓練などで得た知識を生かし、別の方向から突破を試みた。
やがてバールは折れたが、マルティネス伍長は作業を続け、最終的に建物の側面を開けることに成功した。 そのころ、消防隊が現場に到着。消防隊員が建物内に入り、最後まで取り残されていた人を救出した。マルティネス伍長は、消防隊員が救出された人を外へ運び出すところを見届けた。
今回の行動について、マルティネス伍長は「自分たちは何かをしなければならない。ただ立って見ているわけにはいかなかった」と話した。
また、火災発生時に自分たちが現場にいたことについて、「もし私たちがいなければ、もっとひどい結果になっていたかもしれない。人々はそのまま眠り続けていた可能性もある」と振り返った。
同じような状況に遭遇した海兵隊員へのメッセージを求められると、マルティネス伍長は短くこう答えた。
「傍観者になるな。行動に移せ」。
| Date Taken: | 08.18.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 08.19.2026 01:21 |
| Story ID: | 572709 |
| Location: | OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 2,275 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, III Marine Expeditionary Force Support Battalion Marine rushes to aid occupants during Chatan hotel fire, by 1LT Lea Pohalski, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
