Wing firefighters deal with extremes

  • Published
  • By Gene H. Hughes
  • 908th Airlift Wing
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  It's 135 degrees outside, and the fire you're battling is burning close to 1,000, if not higher. There's imminent danger of a chemical attack, so you're wearing MOPP Level 4 in addition to the near-60-plus pounds of firefighting suit and gear you normally have on. You started sweating before you even arrived on scene.

Despite the visor, it's difficult to see. Despite the heavy tank of air strapped to your back, it's more difficult to breathe. Now add to this equation your discovery of a 200-pound victim who needs to be carried 100 yards to safety and medical treatment.

If you can't take this kind of heat, you'd best stay in the rear with the gear. For the firefighters of the 908th Civil Engineering Squadron, that's not an option.

"You never know. The call may come through when you have to go from street clothes all the way up," said Tech. Sgt. Christopher Foley. "You just have to get use to it. This stuff isn't exactly firefighter friendly at all."

The CES firefighters wear the Joint Fire Integrated Response Ensemble, designed by Air Force civil engineers for the specific purpose of fighting fire in a chemical environment. A trained firefighter takes about a minute to get into the regular firefighting suit. According to Sergeant Foley, it should take no longer than five to six minutes to go from street clothes to MOPP Level 4. He added that the addition of adrenaline makes things go faster.

And he should know.

The 12-year member of the 908 CES has had to dress up to MOPP 4 in desert conditions before; twice in Kuwait and once in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, when a fighter aircraft that flew in underneath the belly of a commercial airliner and penetrated the no-fly zone.

Once they got a visual contact on it and alerted the base, it was a mad dash, 'because nobody knew what to expect. Luckily, the plane banked back once they got a lock on it, and there was no confrontation. But when you don't know what's coming at you, you'd be surprised how fast you can put this stuff on.

By the time a firefighter dons all the gear and equipment needed to do the job, fatigue has already started to take hold.

Sergeant Foley said that's where teamwork and training helps most.

"It definitely lets you know where your weaknesses are and what you need to work on. Communication usually ends up being the big thing, and making sure everyone's looking out for one another. You have to go back and double check after one another and make sure everything's right. The one time you don't do something right in a real-world situation, you'll get burned."

And in this occupation, there's no margin for error. The slightest lapse in preparation or judgment could mean the difference between saving a victim and becoming one.

"There's not a lot of room for doubt in this job," said Chief Master Sgt. John Dennis, 908th CES Fire Chief and a member of the wing since 1978 and recent retiree from the City of Montgomery Fire Department. "You've got to have confidence in your buddy.

"It increases the body's stress level and the psychological stress level. You know what you've got to have on, you know what you've got to do, but you've still got to do it. It shortens the amount of time they can actually fight fire, so they actually have to do what they need to do a little bit quicker because they know they won't be able to last as long. Eventually, no matter how good of a shape you're in, you're gonna pay a price. Your body's gonna shut down."

Aside from the regular Air Force training, most members come from such departments as Columbus, Ga., Tuscaloosa and Fort Rucker, Ala., which have their own PT regimens.

"The majority of the people we have here are all firefighters on the outside, and most of them have a PT program at work," Chief Dennis said. "They know the amount of work they have to put in to get ready for this, and they pretty much do it on their own. You have to be physically fit and mentally fit. One enhances the other. If you're not physically fit, then that's gonna mess you up mentally because you're thinking, 'I'm not gonna be able to do the job, I'm gonna put my buddies at risk, I'm gonna let 'em down.' That affects a lot of people, so that's why they stay in good shape."

Teamwork and training will be tested during the upcoming Operational Readiness Inspection in Gulfport, Miss.

"That's part of the game," said 908th Combat Engineer Squadron Commander Maj. Kevin Fuqua. "They want to put you through the worst possible conditions," he said. "It's going to put a great deal of physical and mental stress on them, but these guys really work well together as a team, and they're ready to go."