Team Little Rock firefighters turn up the heat

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jessica Condit
  • 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. --  Fighting fires is not the only responsibility firefighters from the 19th Civil Engineer Squadron fire department focus on when responding to an emergency call. At Little Rock Air Force Base, Airmen ensure they are prepared to safely rescue any victim under any circumstance that may arise.

Eleven of Team Little Rock's firefighters completed training in the Department of Defense's rescue technician course, totaling approximately 25 certified rescue technicians for the base and creating a team of well-prepared emergency responders.

The course consists of ground support for helicopter activities, rope rescue principles such as tying knots, creating anchor systems for low and high angle rescues, surface water rescue, and confined space rescue. It is considered one of the most academically and physically challenging courses offered in the DOD fire protection program.

Each student enrolled in the program is evaluated after each section with scenarios that allow them to apply the procedures and techniques that they have learned in the classroom.

"The scenarios involve multiple victims and challenge all of their skills and how well they accomplish a task with teamwork," said James Farrell, the 19th Civil Engineer Squadron assistant chief of fire emergency services.

With all of the specialized training, each graduate of the rescue technician course is expected to know the procedures of all specialized rescue circumstances.

"The training prepares the fire departments for many types of rescue situations such as vehicle accidents in low angle environments, construction workers stuck on scaffolding, someone injured in a high angle environment, or someone needing rescued from a confined space," said Tech. Sgt. Aaron Brackett, a 312th Training Squadron rescue technician instructor supervisor. "These are just a few of the circumstances that the rescue technicians could face."

The importance of successfully completing this training extends beyond the ability to rescue civilians and dependents in emergencies. The course also helps firefighters learn to perform rescues on Airmen who are contributing to the mission on the flightline and other industrial environments.

"Without these technicians, it would be much more difficult, if not impossible, to perform many of the rescues in our work environment," said Farrell. "For example, our aircraft maintainers consistently work in confined spaces such as aircraft wings. We also have communications craftsmen that routinely work on our radio towers. If they were to have an emergency, we would utilize our rescue technicians to perform these rescues."

The training not only certifies Air Force firefighters, but the Air Force and Marine Corps instructors, from the 312th TRS, stationed at Goodfellow AFB, Texas, teach all DOD components, to include the Coast Guard and DOD civilians. The instructors conduct 22 in-residence courses throughout the year.

Because of the desirability of the training, Little Rock AFB typically only receives one seat each year to attend the in-residence course, making the training visit to Little Rock AFB all the more important to the success of the base's mission.

Brackett explained that the seats are usually filled by the major command chiefs, who are requested through each base's fire department training office. By hosting the mobile travel team class, Little Rock AFB was able to have a combined 10 years of training.

While the specialized training is not a mandatory requirement for the firefighters, it yields a high participation rate and turns out only a 10 percent washout rate.

Being a firefighter is tough work, but with all of the training and certification required and accomplished by each one of Team Little Rock's firefighters, the challenge is well met.