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Air Force trains ARFF on how to be safe around F-16s
Commonwealth Ports Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting personnel got a firsthand look yesterday at two U.S. Air Force’s F-16 fighter planes that could someday make emergency landings at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport.
Two F-16 fighter planes land at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport yesterday as part of the ongoing Cope North military exercise.
(Jayson Camacho)
The two F-16’s landing at the Saipan airport were part of the training exercise Cope North, according to Andersen Air Force Base Fire and Emergency Services chief of training Stanley Torres.
Torres said the training is designed to give CNMI firefighters a chance to learn about the aircraft and what to do should the fighter be forced down nearby.
The U.S Air Force came to Saipan to train CPA firefighting personnel on the safety hazards of F-16s. Last July, the Air Force came with an F-15.
“This time we’re here with an F-16 and we’re taking advantage of the exercise in the region for Cope North. …Last July we came here [but] we only had firefighters and maintenance crews and we’re bringing emergency personnel to link up with CPA ports police and weapons safety,” Torres said.
“What we’re doing…[is] we train these firefighters to approach the aircraft in a safe manner, not to go in front of the intake and get sucked in. We train them on the weapons and pilots and how to get them out,” he added.
Air Force Lt. Mathew Park and the pilot of the other F-16 said they’ve been flying on an F-16 for two years now, about three to four times a week.
“If anything happens out there, we can land here and they can take care of us,” Park said.
CPA-ARFF fire chief James Diaz said they wanted to take advantage of the ongoing Cope North exercise by having their personnel acclimated to the aircraft since the Saipan airport is a civilian airport and the alternate for any military aircraft.
“We want to make sure our guys are familiar with the types of aircraft coming in and if there is any incident runs for their aircraft, we can practically have an idea of what to do,” Diaz said.
CPA-ARFF firefighter 1 Jesse Salas was pleased with the training.
“We’re just learning how to rescue any pilot when there is any aircraft emergency or aircraft landing emergencies. They taught us how to identify areas for safety and precautions,” he said.
