LAJES FIELD, 20, PORTUGAL
10.24.2023
Story by Cristina Oliveira 65th ABG/PA
65th Air Base Group
On the morning of 24 October, the 65th Air Base Group (ABG) Fire Department at Lajes Field responded to a fire incident involving a yacht in the local harbor. The incident took place at Praia da Vitoria city, the community that surrounds the base, close to the military Transportation Terminal Unit (TTU) which plays a role in facilitating the offloading of fuel from freighters for the Air Base.
The alert was given at 08:43 local time and it took around three hours to successfully extinguish the fire. The response involved seven members, two command vehicles and one support truck of Lajes Field Fire Department, along with 22 firefighters and seven vehicles from the Humanitarian Association of the Praia da Vitória Volunteer Firefighters.
Members of the Port Captaincy and the Maritime Police Local Command, as well as the Praia da Vitória City Council's Civil Protection team were also on the scene. In total, nearly fifty individuals were mobilized to the incident.
The fire ignited during routine maintenance on the pleasure craft's machinery. The mechanic managed to escape, and no casualties were reported.
Upon the arrival of the helping teams, the yacht was already fully engulfed in flames. The fire broke out in the engine room, in the hold of the vessel, creating difficulty in reaching it. Due to safety considerations, the firefighters were unable to enter the vessel, intensifying the complexity of the operation. Firefighters were able to contain the fire and prevent its spread even through the fire was only successfully extinguished once the yacht had sunk.
"It was an extremely complex operation, because the vessel is very compartmentalized and the compartment where the machinery was located was very difficult to access”, explained António Almeida Marques, Fire Chief of the Humanitarian Association of the Praia da Vitória Volunteer Firefighters. “The fiberglass was on fire and there were no conditions to access the vessel. The fight was always conducted from the outside”, he further added.
Although the Lajes Field Fire Department doesn't typically answer to off-base fires, the firefighters, equipped with specialized aircraft gear not available to the local department, proved to be crucial in this incident. Paulo Veredas, Installation Fire Chief of the 65th Air Base Group, clarified, "the request for mutual aid was initially made with the purpose of deploying one of our UHP (Ultra High Pressure) Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicles, strategically chosen to minimize water usage while accessing the boat's lower deck”.
The Maritime Fuel Spill and Response team within the group’s Water and Fuel Systems Maintenance (WFSM) Section, a rare capability in the United States Air Force, was also mobilized to the scene.
Using their own fuel response boat, the team initiated the process of unraveling one fuel containment boom from the TTU and towed it over to the Praia da Vitoria harbor. Integrating with the Praia City Hall’s command and control directions, the boom was strategically placed around the harbor section where the yacht was still on fire, securing it on both sides to prevent any potential fuel or contamination from escaping into the bay.
Once Fire Protection was able to put the fire out, the team was asked to place an additional fuel containment boom closer in order to shrink the contamination recovery area. After placement, they began recovering the spilled fuel and other contaminants using their surface skimmer.
“The WFSM Section worked around the clock keeping positive control of the scene for five days, collecting around 1000 gallons of contamination waste which was turned over to Praia City Hall for disposal, pointed out Captain Matthew Buxkemper, 765th Air Base Squadron Operations Flight Commander.
This incident exemplifies the power of collaboration between Lajes Field services and the dedicated local organizations. Recognizing the paramount importance of communication for the operation’s success, Paulo Veredas noted that the mutual aid request was seamlessly executed, ensuring a prompt response. “Once on scene the interaction with Praia da Vitoria Department Fire Chief was flawless in regards to on-scene decisions”, he revealed.
The team’s actions exemplify a trusted partnership between the community and the base, and the interactions between the 65th Air Base Group and Praia da Vitoria Fire Department members were highlighted by both commands.
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