U.S. Marine Corps Firefighter Of The Year

YUMA, AZ, UNITED STATES
Photo by Lance Cpl. Joel Soriano
Marine Corps Air Station Yuma 


U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Jose Toledo, an Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Specialist with Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron, poses for a photograph at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma Ariz., March 27, 2019. Sgt. Toledo is the 2018 Marine Corps Military Firefighter of the Year. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Joel Soriano)

Emergency Dispatch, “90% Routine, 10% Organized Chaos”

NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (March 29, 2019) Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) 2nd Class Kimberly Finnie, an emergency dispatcher assigned to Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota, Spain, mans NAVSTA Rota's Emergency Dispatch Center. NAVSTA Rota sustains the fleet, enables the fighter and supports the family by conducting air operations, port operations, ensuring security and safety, assuring quality of life and providing the core services of power, water, fuel and information technology. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Benjamin A. Lewis)

ROTA, SPAIN
04.04.2019
Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Benjamin Lewis
Naval Station Rota, Spain 

“During critical moments in someone’s life, placing an emergency call for help to 9-1-1 can be traumatic,” said Lolita Crutcher, Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota, Spain’s lead emergency response dispatcher. “Oftentimes, the trained voice on the other end of the line can make all the difference. Dispatchers support the front line 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. They make quick high-stakes decisions that help protect the public.”

NAVSTA Rota is celebrating National Public Safety Telecommunicators week, April 14-20, which honors the thousands of men and women who respond to emergency calls, dispatch emergency professional and equipment, and render life-saving assistance to the world’s citizens.

Rota’s Emergency Dispatch Center is manned by both active duty Navy and Department of Defense civilian emergency response dispatchers. Surprisingly, the Navy personnel are Aviation Boatswain’s Mates (Handling) and one Fire Controlman (FC).

“Our Navy personnel are typically placed in the dispatch center outside their rate,” said Michael Harris, supervisor of the Emergency Dispatch Center. “[NAVSTA] Rota’s local Dispatch Center’s extensive on-the-job training program has proven to be very successful, as many of our Navy personnel have done very well during their assignments.”

Aviation Boatswain’s Mates (Handling) 2nd Class Jonathan De Leon, an emergency dispatcher, and his wife, came to Rota after his tour aboard the amphibious assault ships USS Peleliu (LHA 5) and USS America (LHA 6).

“This job is very different than working on the flight deck,” said De Leon. “Instead of running up and down the flight deck and launching jets and helos every day, I am at a desk answering calls and ensuring people are getting the emergency help they need when they need it.”

De Leon added that the feeling of accomplishment is great when they “get all the pieces right and people get the help they need.”

“Telecommunicators (dispatchers) are the ones behind the scene,” said Crutcher. “They are the ones who answer when you dial 9-1-1 when you need help. They are the calm voice in that moment of need, and the ones who get the information to tell first responders where they are needed.”

The team of dispatchers monitor security and fire alarms from various buildings on base, monitor radio traffic between the security patrol units, send patrol units to any emergencies that need a security response, answer emergency 9-1-1 and non-emergency calls, monitor radio traffic with the fire department and communicate with ambulances and send them to any required base emergency.

Robert Benson, a lead dispatcher, said a normal day for a dispatcher is, “90% routine, 10% organized chaos.” He added, “When the 9-1-1 line rings, your adrenalin shoots up, heart starts racing, and your senses become focused and fine-tuned to provide the best possible service you can give! A sympathetic, confident, and assertive voice can save a life.”

While dispatchers are devoted to their vital mission, it doesn’t make the personal sacrifice easier.

“In my opinion, the hardest part of the job is the shift work,” said Crutcher. “Missing Christmas, birthdays, school functions, family events, etc. is tough. Going into the job with a clear understanding of the sacrifices you are required to make year after year is a must.”

“It takes a special kind of person to perform the job. The profession demands that individuals have a unique set of professional skills and personal attributes,” said Harris.

Dispatchers are there for community members in their time of need. From a car accident or someone contemplating suicide to instructing a person on how to administer CPR and more, a dispatcher is on the other end ready to help.

“I know it’s not a perfect outcome every time I answer the phone,” Benson explained. But when he can help the person on the other end, “that is what makes this job incredible.”

Task Force Rattlesnake completes wildfire training

Photo By Capt. Jason Sweeney | A Cal Guard Task Force Rattlesnake team conducts a 2.5 mile hike through the hills and fog at Camp Roberts on March 28. The hike was part of a day of field training on the camp. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Jason Sweeney, California National Guard)

CAMP ROBERTS, CA, UNITED STATES

03.31.2019

Story by Capt. Jason Sweeney 

California National Guard  

CAMP ROBERTS, Calif. — The Cal Guard’s Task Force Rattlesnake completed wildland firefighting training with CAL FIRE at Camp Roberts on March 31 and has headed out to protect California’s communities vulnerable to wildfires.

The task force is made up of 100 Soldiers and Airmen who serve on five teams each led by a Cal Guard lieutenant and a non-commissioned-officer-in-charge (NCOIC) who report to a CAL FIRE captain. Two teams are stationed in Fresno and one team each is stationed in Monterey, Auburn and Redding. The teams will work alongside CAL FIRE to clear out potential “fuels,” such as dead trees, dry vegetation and other flammable material from locations throughout the state. 

Task Force Rattlesnake’s mission supports California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order to prepare a plan that will have the greatest impact on preventing the effects of deadly wildfires. The mission has taken on a sense of urgency due to the destructiveness of the past several fire seasons in the state.

“We’ve trained the task force to the normal level of military firefighters,” CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Damon Godden said. “We’ve taken an extra step and implemented chainsaw training for fuels reduction.”

About 160 Cal Guard Soldiers and Airmen volunteered for the mission. They arrived at Camp Roberts on California’s Central Coast on March 22 for a week of training with CAL FIRE Military Crew Liaison Advisors (MCADs). The Cal Guard members were issued firefighting personal protective equipment. They received classroom training and conducted field training on the camp’s hilly terrain. Of the volunteers, 100 were selected for the task force. They’ll be on orders for six months with the option to extend for another six months.

The training at Camp Roberts included the use of firefighting tools, such as the Pulaski and McLeod hand tools. The Cal Guardsmen were taught to cut fire lines, use fire hoses, protect themselves with fire shelters, among other skills.

“The California National Guard brings a lot of troops to the fight,” Godden said. “That helps us a lot. It only takes four or five CAL FIRE staff to work with over a hundred from the Cal Guard, so it gives us a lot of boots on the ground to get the job done. This kind of work is very arduous as far as physical labor, basically using chainsaws and hand tools on steep and uneven terrain. The work these troops will be doing will be in places where you can’t get heavy equipment, so it’s a lot of hiking and labor-intensive carrying of brush and stacking and using other equipment to help reduce the fuel.”

Cal Guard Lt. Col. Sean Byrne serves as the California National Guard Joint Operations Liaison to CAL FIRE, and has coordinated activities between the two agencies for the past five fire seasons. 

“Typically, we’ve deployed a battalion to serve as a hand crew task force,” Byrne said. “The model for Task Force Rattlesnake is much different because it’s a composite force from across the Cal Guard, many Soldiers from many units, and we also have Air Guard personnel on the task force. We bring a highly motivated force, a trainable force—disciplined personnel to perform these activities. It’s important that our service members take direction from CAL FIRE MCADs who are the subject-matter experts and responsible for our safety and our effectiveness. The nature of our force makes that easier. We’re a good fit.” 

On March 28 and 29, Task Force Rattlesnake headed to the recreational community of Cal Shasta Club on the shores of Lake Nacimiento located in rural countryside outside of Camp Roberts. The community lost 28 homes in the Chimney Fire of 2016, which destroyed a total of 49 homes and 21 other structures.

“We are so grateful as a community to have the California National Guard here,” said Phil Humfrey, Cal Shasta’s only full-time resident. “We have 120 members in our club. We’re a family community that’s been here since 1959.”

Humfrey said the community has been working with CAL FIRE to reduce the fire threat. “We spend a lot of money trimming trees and stuff, but there’s just so much to do.”

On a hill above Lake Nacimiento, CAL FIRE MCADs instructed the Cal Guardsmen on the use of chainsaws. During the training, the Cal Guardsmen cleared brush from a ravine. 

“The training is great for them and it’s a benefit for us,” Humfrey said. “The ravine they’re working in is covered with coyote brush, which is extremely flammable. They’re going to try to clear that out because if fire gets in that ravine, it will go up just like a chimney and take out the houses that are up the hill there.”

For Task Force Rattlesnake member Sgt. Michael Bargas, who serves with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 143rd Field Artillery Regiment, it was his first experience using a chainsaw, but not his first time on a firefighting hand crew. 

“I worked on a hand crew in 2015 for the Mad River and Butte fires and loved it,” he said. “When they said, hey, come out for a minimum of six months, I jumped on top of it.”

Second Lt. Jonathan Green, from the 115th Regional Support Group, is serving as the officer-in-charge of the Auburn team. “Everyone’s really motivated and excited to be a part of this project,” he said. “We’re forming a tight group. We’re excited to hit the ground, make progress and hopefully prevent future fires from happening.”

Task Force Rattlesnake is commanded by the Cal Guard’s Maj. Robert Langston, who works on the civilian side as a wildland firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service. Langston’s young son came up with the name for the task force.

“The feedback I’m getting from CAL FIRE is that Task Force Rattlesnake is doing great,” Langston said. “We’re here to make this mission a success, help the state with fuels management and make a positive impact on our communities by protecting them in the coming fire season.”

“I think we’re ready to get out there and serve the communities that we’ll be working in,” Byrne said. “We’re excited get out there and meet the Governor’s intent to make California safer.”

2019 Meritorious Awards ceremony at the Spokane Fire Department

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tyler Ferris, 92nd Maintenance Group Air Force Repair Enhance Program technician and U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Blaine Holland, 92nd Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Emergency Services superintendent receive a life-saving award from the Spokane Fire Department at the Spokane Fire Department Training Facility in Spokane, Washington, March 27, 2019. Ferris and Holland provided life-saving first-aid to the victim of a car accident. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Lawrence Sena)

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE

By Airman 1st Class Lawrence Sena, 

92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs  

Published March 28, 2019

With the work day coming to an end and traffic building slowly into rush hour, it is a day just like any other. As the slow moving traffic continues along the highway, a large cloud of dust makes itself visible over the horizon, bringing all vehicles to a standstill and drivers to a state of concern. The dust begins to settle and visible through the haze lays a car tangled in a fence with the driver still inside.

It was at this moment when U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Blaine Holland, 92nd Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Emergency Services superintendent, and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tyler Ferris, 92nd Maintenance Group Air Force Repair Enhancement Program technician, knew they needed to act fast.

“When I looked in the distance, I saw a cloud of dust so I pulled over to see what was happening,” said Holland. “When I walked up to the scene, I saw a car off the road and the driver in the seat with severe injuries to the abdomen. So I immediately directed another individual standing nearby to call 911.”

Ferris soon arrived to the scene and immediately began assisting Holland in providing compression to the driver’s injuries using his shirt until Spokane Tribal Police arrived to the scene and provided medical supplies to assist with the injuries.

“When I got to the vehicle and saw the result of the crash, I hoped that no one had died,” said Ferris. “While providing pressure on the wounds, I knew I couldn’t let this person bleed out and that I had to keep them awake until emergency medical technicians were on scene.”

In the heat of the moment, Holland called for additional support from the Fairchild Fire Department, Spokane Fire Department and ambulance services. The first responders arrived on-scene where they successfully pulled the victim out of the wreckage and transferred them to the hospital where emergency surgical teams were prepared and awaiting the ambulance’s arrival.

“A lot of what was going through my mind was that this person could pass out and die right now,” Holland said. “When the fire department arrived and took the driver away without any complications, it was the closest thing to a miracle I have ever seen.”

Both Holland and Ferris’ concerns for the victim would not stop there as they both found ways to reach out to the victim and their family.

“I went to the hospital the next morning and introduced myself to the driver’s family and let them know I was checking on them because I wanted to see how they were doing after the accident,” Holland said. “After about four or five days, I visited the driver and immediately they asked me, ‘Were you the one telling everyone what to do? You saved my life.’”

“Being able to meet the driver and hearing how thankful they were for us being there has been the highlight of my time in the Air Force,” Ferris added.

Airmen are required to be certified in Self Aid and Buddy Care every 18 months. The hands-on course encompasses basic life support and limb-saving techniques to help injured personnel survive in medical emergencies until professional medical help is available. Additional training may be required for Airmen whose duties regularly expose them to situations that require more in-depth care.

“In our business, we’re trained and exposed to scenarios similar to this kind of accident, so it’s easy to remain calm when those situations arise,” Holland said. “A week before the accident, I was in training and one of the scenarios involved treating a bleeding injury. It feels good knowing the training helped me act in confidence.”

Holland and Ferris both received a meritorious life-saving award from SFD for their quick actions in providing aid to the victim, allowing them to stabilize and transport the victim safely.

“I’m thankful to be part of the team that helped save the person’s life,” Holland added. “It took more than just me. With the help of the ambulance teams, fire department, law enforcement and doctors, this person is able to be reunited with their family.”

Due to Holland’s and Ferris’ ability to keep their composure during the emergency, along with the diligence of all fire and medical first responders, a life was able to be saved from what could have been a fatal accident.

See More: Here

KADENA AIR BASE, OKINAWA, JAPAN

KADENA AIR BASE, OKINAWA, JAPAN

04.03.2019

Photo by Airman 1st Class Matthew Seefeldt 

18th Wing Public Affairs  

A P-23 aircraft rescue and firefighting crash truck sprays water on a training aircraft during a training exercise, Apr. 3, 2019, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. The P-23 Crash Truck is a larger version of the P-19 ARFF truck and has a larger fire suppression agent capacity. It is primarily assigned at transport, bomber, depot and cargo aircraft bases. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Matthew Seefeldt)

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jessica Sergent, 18th Civil Engineer Squadron lead firefighter talks to Airman 1st Class Kevin Guerrero, 18th CES firefighter, during a training exercise, Apr. 3, 2019, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. The 18th CES's Fire and Emergency Services Flight responds to an average of 4,000 emergency calls annually and manages the threat and outcome of fire, rescue medical and environmental emergencies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Matthew Seefeldt)