Sgt. Barry Burt (left), team leader,
and Spc. Guy Bouldin (right), firefighter, both with Headquarters and
Headquarters Company, 63rd Ordnance Company, 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment
Command, evacuate a mannequin used as an unconscious person after heading into
a simulated house fire to evacuate any personnel inside while conducting fire
rescue training with the Tooele Army Depot Fire Department during Operation
Overblast at Tooele Army Depot, Utah, April 9.
ARMY DEPOT, Utah – The sound of a soft breeze
is overtaken by sirens and horns blaring as firefighters from Tooele Army Depot
(TEAD) and Joint Base Lewis-McChord Fire Departments speed down the street
April 10.
Brakes
squeal as two fire trucks come to a sudden stop in front of a house with smoke
billowing from the windows. Four firefightersleap from the trucks and throw on
their protective equipment. Four other firemen quickly hook up hoses from one
truck to another.
A two-man
team begins to douse the house using the drafting system from water source to
truck to truck. A second two-man team cautiously enters the building searching
vigorously as the first team follows not far behind them.
This was the
first five minutes as firefighters from JBLM and TEAD Fire Departments react to
a training call at the TEAD fire-training house.
“It is
awesome to come out here and work with these individuals,” Spc. Guy Bouldin,
firefighter with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 13th Combat Sustainment
Support Battalion. “It is always great to see how other fire departments
operate under different circumstances.”
The two
departments trained side-by-side teaching each other their operating procedures
based on the environments they work in. The first day began with drafting
operations.
Drafting is
needed when the distance to the water source from the fire cannot be reached
using one vehicle. At least two fire trucks are used to cover the distance from
the water source to extinguish the fire. The Soldiers had the opportunity to
witness drafting at a regular pace as one of the TEAD firefighters was
acquiring his certification for the process.
The firemen
moved from drafting operations for smothering the fire to rescue operations.
This is when the Soldiers enter the building checking for flame outbursts, weak
structures and possibly trapped simulated people. Rescue operations also
include vehicle accidents and other incidents needing equipment the fire
department owns.
The
firefighters moved through the smoking building checking for simulated trapped
victims constantly on guard for fire bursts and structural weaknesses.
“Using the
dummies gives us a chance to practice search and rescue techniques,” said Brian
Thomas, firefighter at TEAD Fire Department. “We get in the habit of checking
different areas, looking where victims might be. They also help demonstrate how
physical it is to pull someone out.”
The final
training exercise consisted of Bouldin and the other JBLM firefighters
partnering up with a TEAD firefighter to enter the building and retrieve the
trapped dummies. The firefighters made the decision to make a second story
rescue after hearing the staircase and debris had collapsed.
This
scenario provided a more difficult rescue, as they had to pass the 130- and
200-pound training dummies through the second story window.
“This isn’t
a job for just anyone,” said Bouldin. “It’s physically active, serious business
and it needs to have serious training. You don’t know what you will encounter
when you arrive at a call.”
Each
firefighter undergoes the same certifications from one location to the next.
Even with the receiving the same credentials, all fire departments are
different from one another.
“The biggest
hurdle for training with other fire departments is learning how they operate,”
said Thomas. “The only way to overcome the hurdle is to work with new
departments. The Soldiers want to train and learn. At the same time, we refresh
our basic skills we often overlook from focusing on specific mission types.”
Bringing the
two departments together allowed both groups of firefighters closer together
through a common passion.
“Everyone
has something to bring to the table, if you are willing to listen,” said
Thomas. “Civilian or military, we are still brothers in uniform. “Story by Sgt.
Daniel Schroeder
