USAG Okinawa fire chief receives Army lifetime achievement award, hall of fame induction

Fire Chief Charlie Butler of U.S. Army Garrison Okinawa, Torii Station, on the job in 1992.  Courtesy photo

JAPAN
04.15.2019
Story by Winifred Brown
US Army Garrison - Japan

CAMP ZAMA, Japan (April 12, 2019) -- Fire Chief Charlie Butler of U.S. Army Garrison Okinawa, Torii Station, didn't aspire to become a firefighter as a child, but once on the job, he found he had an affinity for it.

"Nobody likes to have injuries, fire damage, deaths or things like that, but when you experience those calamities, you're glad to have someone there to make things better," Butler said. "And as a firefighter, I enjoyed being that person that would help people and make things better."

After 39 years in the profession, Butler received the 2018 Army Fire and Emergency Services Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Military Firefighter Heritage Foundation, a private organization based in San Angelo, Texas, will induct him into their hall of fame next month.

Butler joined the Air Force in 1979 and did a 25-year career as an active-duty firefighter. He began working for the Army's former Installation Management Agency, now Installation Management Command, when he retired from the Air Force in 2004, and he has been working for the Army since then.

He has served as the fire chief at Okinawa since February 2016, but previously was the fire chief at USAG Fort Bliss, Texas, for nine years, and he intends to return there next year. Under Department of Defense rules, installations limit overseas civilian jobs to five years and hold employees' stateside jobs while they are away.

In addition, Butler has served as fire chief at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait; Manta Air Base in Manta, Ecuador; and Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan, where he helped build a U.S. air base fire department at a civilian airport in support of cargo and fighter and bomber missions into Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002.

Fire Chief Charlie Butler of U.S. Army Garrison Okinawa, Torii Station, is the recipient of the 2018 Army Fire and Emergency Services Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Military Firefighter Heritage Foundation, a private organization based in San Angelo, Texas, will induct him into their hall of fame in May 2019. Photo by Jim McGee, U.S. Army Garrison Okinawa Public Affairs  

Butler said he tells firefighters, "do things the way they're supposed to be done," and he has followed that advice throughout his career.

"If for some reason you can't do things the way they're supposed to be done, then change the way it's supposed to be done," Butler said. "What I mean by that is: We do things based upon laws, regulations, policies and commander's intent, but if for some reason we can't comply with those laws, rules, regulations and commander's intent, then we have to change those rules."

He also believes in making changes based on an unmet need.

In the days before organizations such as Army Community Service or Airman and Family Readiness, Butler said he didn't like leaving people in the lurch at fire scenes.

"When we got finished as firefighters, we would just kind of leave and the people would be there like, 'What do I do next? I don't have food; I have no furniture; I have nowhere to live; all my important documents are gone.' So I created a checklist that we would give to people that kind of told them, 'This is what you should do next,'" Butler said.

Butler said the biggest change he has seen in firefighting since he began in the field is in safety improvements.

"When I first became a firefighter, when I first went to my first fire station, there was only one breathing apparatus on the truck," Butler said, "and the crew chief, who is like the senior fire guy who is in charge of the truck, he said, 'That's our breathing apparatus right there. We don't ever use it.'"

Now, all firefighters wear breathing apparatus, as well as their own personally fitted mask, Butler said.

"No matter how much safety equipment you have or how safe you are following safety procedures, it's a very dangerous job--roof collapse, explosions, you name it," Butler said. "So firefighting is a very dangerous profession, but we do the very best we can to protect our firefighters and we have a saying: 'Dead firefighters don't save lives.'"

Fire Chief Charlie Butler of U.S. Army Garrison Okinawa, Torii Station, bottom left, on the job as an Air Force firefighter in 1979.Photo by Winifred Brown 

Butler said it is important to fight against complacency by constantly training.
When garrison officials hold meetings throughout the year for annual full-scale emergency exercises, Butler said he likes to tell them the fire department is always ready.

"I always go to these meetings and I say, 'Let's just have it tomorrow. I'm ready.' We have to be ready. In a fire department we cannot prepare a whole year for a single exercise," Butler said. "We have to prepare every single day and that's training, training, training."

Deputy Fire Chief Ralph Barone at USAG Okinawa nominated Butler for the Army award, and because Butler was initially reluctant, he had to talk him into giving him information for the nominating document.

Barone said he nominated Butler because he has known him since 1982 and believes he is one of the best in the field of Army firefighting.

"He's a consummate professional and a visionary in the fire and emergency services career field," Barone said. "He is personally responsible for many of the programs that govern Army Fire and Emergency Services today. There is truly no one more deserving of the Army Fire and Emergency Services Lifetime Achievement Award than Chief Butler."

John Staub, chief of Army Fire and Emergency Services, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management, said he has been a DOD firefighter for 40 years, and has known Butler since the early 1990s when they were both active-duty Air Force firefighters.

"Chief Butler is the model for integrity, honesty and ethics," Staub said. "He has always demonstrated these traits, and leads from the front by example. His dedication to duty and unselfish service to our nation and communities goes a long way in setting the bar high for others to emulate. He mentors current and future leaders, with continued excellence always in the forefront of his thoughts, words and deeds."

Butler is most deserving of the lifetime achievement award, Staub said.

"He has served not only at the installation level, but on (headquarters) staffs as well," Staub said. "I rely on his honest opinion and appraisal, and when coupled with his strategic vision, it affords me the best of both worlds. (He's) a superb fire chief with a strategic vision that stretches across the enterprise that I can always reach out to for assistance."

Fire Chief Charlie Butler of U.S. Army Garrison Okinawa, Torii Station, on the job in 2003. Courtesy photo   

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA
04.08.2019
Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Krystina Coffey
U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet 

190408-N-QR145-033
MEDITERRANEAN SEA (April 8, 2019) - Damage Controlman 3rd Class Demonte Roy enters the main engine room to investigate a simulated fire during a main space fire drill aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) in the Mediterranean Sea, April 8, 2019. Ross, forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, is on its eighth patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests Europe and Africa. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Krystina Coffey/Released)

Video: GERMANY U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach Fire Department training

ANSBACH, Germany (April 10, 2019) -- Civilian firefighters with the U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach Fire Department are conducting firefighter communication rescue and environmental disaster response training, at Katterbach Army Airfield. (U.S. Army Photo by Charles Rosemond)

ANSBACH, BY, GERMANY
04.10.2019
Video by Charles Rosemond
Training Support Activity Europe         

ANSBACH, Germany (April 10, 2019) - Civilian firefighters with U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach Fire Department conduct hazmat, firefighter communication rescue and environmental disaster response training at Katterbach Army Airfield. (U.S. Army video by Charles Rosemond)

FORT POLK Friendly fire station tour

Photo By Chuck Cannon | Rusty Buentello, Fort Polk fire inspector, is the center of a massive hug from FTCA students thanking him for a wonderful tour of the fire station April 10. 

FORT POLK, LA, UNITED STATES
04.12.2019
Story by Chuck Cannon
Fort Polk Public Affairs Office 

By ANGIE THORNE
Guardian staff writer

FORT POLK, La. — From their perspective, any day kids get to go on a field trip is probably a fun day. Two K-4 (kindergarten) classes of excited 4 and 5 year-olds from Faith Training Christian Academy, Leesville, had one of those “fun” days as they toured the Fort Polk Fire Department April 10.
The students explored fire trucks, toured the fire station and took turns spraying the fire hose (with a little help).
Sara Newman, K-4 teacher, said the field trip offered students the chance to experience and learn new things about firefighters and the job they do, while also absorbing basic fire prevention skills. Newman said it made an impression on her students when Fort Polk firefighters explained the parts of their uniforms and described and demonstrated the importance of each piece of equipment.
“What the firefighters sound like when they have their gear on is the first step to help kids understand what to expect if they are in a fire and see a firefighter in their home,” she said.
Krista Henry, K-4 teacher, said if you are 4 or 5 and your house is on fire, you are going to be scared.
“There’s smoke and alarms and then you see this big guy in strange gear coming at you. Of course they are going to be frightened,” she said. “But now they know what to expect and that the firefighter is there to help them. That could make a huge difference.”
Matthew Chapman, Fort Polk firefighter, told the kids, “The worst thing you can do is hide from us in that situation. You want to get out of the house that is on fire and we are there to help you do that.”
Rusty Buentello, Fort Polk fire inspector, said tours teach kids basic fire safety and that firefighters are there to help them.
“If they are in trouble, we want them to run to us when they see our trucks and uniforms, not away from us,” he said.
Buentello said his favorite thing about conducting the tours is watching the happy expressions on kid’s faces as they explore fire trucks.
“It’s wonderful to see,” he said.
Courtney Whitehead attended the tour with her daughter, Abbie-Mae. Although she said Abbie-Mae knows what to do if a fire happens, she is glad her daughter has an opportunity to learn even more fire safety.
“She has been very excited about this tour,” she said.
Whitehead said her daughter loves water and couldn’t wait to spray the fire hose.
Abbie-Mae said it was really fun.
“I loved spraying the hose up and down. I sprayed water really high,” she said.
Capt. Chris Rosado, Joint Readiness Training Center Operations Group, attended the tour with his son Weston. He said it’s good to spend this kind of one-on-one time with him.
“He had a ball. He’ll be talking about this tour for the next two weeks,” he said.
After taking the tour, Lincoln Dowden, an FTCA student, said being a firefighter would be a good job.
The field trip was also part of the FTCA’s effort to promote the idea of teaching kids about community service.
Newman said kids gave teddy bears to the firefighters to hand out to other kids when they go out on emergency calls.
“We are trying to teach them a spirit of kindness and compassion in giving back to the community. We explained to them that when kids their age have been through an accident or a fire and have maybe lost everything they own, the teddy bear might bring them some comfort,” she said.
Henry said it makes their students feel better to pass that love and joy forward.
Newman said felt the tour was a huge success.
“I want to thank Fort Polk and the firefighters for allowing us to visit post for the tour,” she said.
“Fort Polk was very welcoming,” said Henry.

MCAS IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JAPAN

Firefighters with Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni Fire Department conduct the rescue of a simulated casualty trapped in an escalator during an escalator rescue drill at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, April 9, 2019. The firefighters used an escalator in the old Marine Corps exchange because the building is slated for demolition later this year. This was a unique training experience for the firefighters because many had never conducted escalator rescue drills mostly due to high repair costs that come with the training. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Stephen Campbell)

MCAS IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JAPAN

04.11.2019

Story by Cpl. Stephen Campbell 

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni  

Even after its closure, the old Marine Corps Exchange (MCX) on Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni still serves a purpose on base. Slated for demolition later this year, firefighters with MCAS Iwakuni Fire Department used the dark, empty building to conduct escalator rescue drills on April 9, 2019.

Since this type of training can destroy an escalator, firefighters saw the upcoming demolition as an opportunity to jump on some uncommon training without the escalator requiring a repair. This was also a rare training event because there aren’t many military installations in Japan that have escalators. 

Issei Hashimoto, a firefighter with MCAS Iwakuni Fire Department, said that the number of escalator accidents that happen may be small, but they do happen. This is a very rare and important training opportunity to respond to accidents like that. If a passenger got stuck in an escalator, the firefighter could take too long if they don’t have the skills to rescue the trapped passenger.

To give an idea of how rare and important this training was, Toru Hirota, the performance assessment representative at Facilities Support Contracts, said this was his first escalator rescue training experience after 13 years with his employer. Also, the escalator has been on the air station for approximately 25 years and this was the first training held, mostly due to high repair expenses.

“This is the first training in my life… and probably the last training in my life,” said Hirota.

Firefighters used a life-sized adult test dummy to simulate a passenger falling through an escalator, and they used small test dummy body parts to simulate a small child’s foot or hand getting stuck. Each simulated incident was treated as an actual emergency response and the firefighters treated each simulated injury with care by assessing the blood pressure and heart rate of each test dummy. They also carried each dummy away from the scene on a stretcher.

After each test dummy was carried away, responders huddled together in a circle and held an after action brief to describe what it was like to pull the simulated limbs, or bodies, out of the escalator, their effectiveness, what they could do to improve and discussed the well-being of each simulated passenger affected.

The reason they treated this as a very serious situation is because many times firefighters are the first responders to provide medical support whenever a real incident occurs. They intend to save lives that could be impacted by an escalator incident quickly and efficiently as possible in the future.

None of this training would have been possible without station facilities, who allowed the firefighters to use the obsolete escalator. Hirota said he coordinated with seven different organizations for this training such as Marine Corps Community Services, Army Corps of Engineers, the government of Japan and others to get this training up and going.

Overall, this training grants firefighters’ increased confidence if an incident ever were to occur. 

Hashimoto said that as a firefighter, his mission is to save lives. He’s just thankful for the opportunity to do this and is hopeful to do training like this again.