Courtesy Photo | FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq - Lt. Chris Linto explains to fellow firefighter...... read more read more
2nd Lt. Adhana Townsell
Special Troops Battalion, 2nd BCT, 4th Inf. Div.
FOB KALSU, Iraq - Forward Operating Bases have all the essential services needed to help the military get its job done: laundry, food service providers and civilian workers providing maintenance and other services.
Some bases also have a fire station on hand to prevent a bad situation from getting out of control and to educate Soldiers on fire safety.
"Just because we live in a bad area, let's not make it worse," said Brad West, a firefighter with Wackenhut Services International Fire and Emergency Services, stationed here. "Remember: no candles, no incense, no smoking and no burning of any kind in your living areas."
Of the 12-man crew here, four members are prior military and used to work in the U.S. on military crash crews. The leaders are key resources for liaising with the military and in understanding the safety requirements of a wartime environment. A group of Marines handled Kalsu's fire emergencies before the fire department came here.
"You just never know what to expect when you're fighting fires over here," said Lt. Chris Linto, a supervisor with the unit. "Every fire can be different. One fire we had was more like a fireworks show."
They have only had to deal with one small dumpster fire since arriving in January. West had to deal with two major fires at Abu Ghraib last year - one in the living areas and one in the prisoners" kitchen.
It is suspected that the cause of the living-quarters fire was a combination of candles and a possible electrical malfunction. The kitchen fire was attributed to diesel fuel leaking into a burner area where prisoners were making bread.
Wackenhut employees have state-of-the-art equipment that would make smaller fire departments in the U.S. jealous.
"Rural fire departments run on $400,000 or $500,00 budgets," said West. "One of these trucks nowadays costs $500,000."
Fighting a fire the Kalsu way is challenging, since the water used to fight fires comes from the canals surrounding the FOB and limited reserves are available.
"A lot of our training is site specific, base orientation," said West, a native of Cheyenne, Wyo. "We could have 3,200 gallons of water on-site within five minutes."
In their downtime, the firefighters replace batteries for smoke detectors, teach Soldiers how to use fire extinguishers, drill holes, pruned trees and removed concertina wire.
"We'll do the little things that make their lives easier," said Linto.
The firefighters at Kalsu come from all over the U.S., working here under annual contracts with WSI Fire and Emergency Services.
The two-year-old company has established 18 different fire departments throughout Iraq. The fire department has been at Kalsu since Jan. 1, and most of the men came from elsewhere in country, including Mosul, Kirkuk and Abu Ghraib.
All WSI Fire and Emergency Service firefighters are required to have a certification from the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress and Pro Board Firefighter I and II - standard firefighting certifications.
"No matter where you are from, firefighting is a basic job," said Linto, who hails from Montgomery, Ala.
Even with firefighting fundamental skills being the same, each of the 12 men has a different perspective on firefighting. They come to Iraq with training unique to their home region.
"In the beginning, it was a challenge to bridge the gap," said West, who has spent the past year in Iraq. "You've got to leave some of your old ways behind, accept things from different states and come up with your own "Kalsu" way of firefighting."
| Date Taken: | 04.07.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 04.07.2006 09:25 |
| Story ID: | 5983 |
| Location: | ISKANDARIYAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 227 |
| Downloads: | 66 |
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