Cool fire fighters at Little Rock

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Regina Agoha
  • 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. --  Stop, drop and roll out the red carpet for the base's fire department.

Not only does this highly decorated department of 55 employees respond to 300-400 emergencies a year that aren't fires and carry out education programs on fire prevention, but they also work along with medical agencies, the department of emergency management and several fire departments in-state and out to gain experience and share training with each other.

"Our mission is protection of the forces, aircraft and people associated with Little Rock Air Force Base," said Don Smart, Little Rock Air Force Base's fire chief. "It goes a lot further than just responding to emergencies. We're dedicated to training people on safety and technical engineering, which include making sure fire prevention is enforced throughout the base. Additionally, as an emergency response entity, we work routinely with the other agencies surrounding the base. Fire departments in general tend to work together so we can bring additional resources to the table when necessary."

Smart said by training together, each group can share their experiences and build rapport with each other.

"The department has a limited number of people, and if we have a large event or emergency, the only way we can truly sustain a response is to rely on our partners," said Smart. "Those partners happen to be outside the gate. We are a support agency to medical responses on the base. The Jacksonville fire department is the medical responder for the base, so we work hand-in-hand directly with them, almost on a daily basis."

The give and take method is one that works well with the base's fire department and its joint partners.

"We have mutual aid agreements with Jacksonville, North Little Rock and Little Rock," said Smart. "We also get involved as much as we can to support these other agencies. In some cases we have a training mechanism that we can bring to the table to help them out. For instance, the firefighters that are on standby at the Little Rock National Airport, receive their annual live-fire training that's required of them to maintain certifications on the base. We not only support them, but we support everyone that flies in and out of Little Rock National Airport.

"The specific resources that we have contain a capability that not all fire departments have," said Smart. "Because of the support of our aircraft, we have some vehicles that are equipped with foam which have a capability of fighting certain types of fires, such as large flammable liquid spills containing gasoline or diesel. Most fire departments don't have the quick capability to produce enough foam to fight fires such as those. When other agencies outside the base request assistance from us or need us, it's typically because of what we can bring that other agencies can't."

By working together jointly, Smart said they can bring different visions of firefighting together and improve and increase their capabilities beyond what one department alone is capable of.

"When they bring their experiences to us, we get trained and that makes both groups better at what we do, which is better for the community and safer for our fire fighters," said Smart.

The fire department is not only highly trained, but they are highly decorated. In the past year they've received 65 different types of individual and team recognition, awards and decorations from various groups throughout the Air Force.

"With only 55 people, the fact that we've received 65 types of recognition, I think, is pretty significant," said Smart.

"Last October we had a 40-acre fire on the base during the air show," said Smart. "It was threatening to stop the air show. It was also threatening to get into the woods across the runway. Had it done that, it would have been absolutely devastating. Fortunately, we were able to fight that fire and put it out in a very quick time frame, which allowed the show to continue and allowed us to protect the environment on that side. It's very rare for a fire fighter to get a decoration for fighting fires-that's what we do. The event was so significant, ten fire fighters plus other volunteers were decorated because of it."

The fire department also received achievement medals and recognition from Air Force leadership throughout year. They received the 2010 Fire Prevention of the Year award from Air Mobility Command and were AMC's 2010 fire department of the year.

Smart said the first goal of the department is fire prevention. They strive to prevent fires through education, technical engineering and a lot of code enforcement. That effort to prevent fires puts them in a position where they respond to very few fires annually. There have been six reported fires this year. That's the lowest number they've had since 2005.

"All our fire fighters have to be trained and certified in different areas," said Smart. "In those areas, we maintain a 10 percent average above the rest of the Air Force's Career Development Course program and the rest of the Air Force's fire services as well. That 10 percent average has been maintained for seven years. Without a doubt, I believe that Little Rock Air Force Base has the most successful training program in the fire service. Our fire fighters are instilled with the motivation to succeed."

Smart is not the only person who displays pride and utter respect for the fire department due to their work ethic and honorable discipline.

"Team Little Rock benefits from a highly skilled and motivated group of fire fighters who selflessly stand ready every day," said Lt. Col. Lance Clark, 19th Civil Engineer Squadron commander. "They've proven their ability on big stages such as the pyrotechnic fires and off-course paratroopers during the 2010 air show. Also during the base's worst tornado ever, they fought their way out of their damaged fire station to rescue our Airmen and their families and began clearing lines of communication to recover the base and keep injuries to a minimum. They've established benchmark relations with the surrounding community and Team Little Rock's first response teammates. It's no wonder they've been AMC's most highly decorated fire department over the past year."

In addition, they were recently recognized as one of 19th Airlift Wing's 10 outstanding teams during the recent operational readiness inspection, said Clark.

The alliances between the base's fire department and other agencies have shown to be successful due to the low numbers and preventions of devastating fires throughout the base and community. That in return melts fears and flames up confidence in their services. If one can't stand the heat, call the fire department because they can.