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Guam Guard airmen improve ability to use biohazard machine at Tinian Health Clinic
As part of the Innovative Readiness Training Program, airmen from the Guam Air National Guard’s 254th Red Horse Squadron were tasked to create a safer environment in and around the biohazard machine at the Tinian Health Clinic.
There was currently no ventilation or ability for the air coming out of the biohazard machine to be pushed out safely.
“When the machine is utilized, it creates unsafe odors and fumes which travels throughout the hospital,” said Vincente “Ben” King, Bureau of Environmental Health and Sanitation. “We must ensure the safety of the patients and the hospital staff.”
The airmen, from the 254RHS Structures Shop, wasted no time and got to work on this project, which required the fabrication of an enclosure for the machine, but also the installation of a ventilation duct to redirect the potentially hazardous fumes out of the clinic.
As the ventilation duct was being installed, the airmen realized that the central air conditioning unit in the mechanical room did not have a “fresh air return” window. THC leadership approved the additional task and the airmen got right to work and created an opening in the wall where a ventilation window could be installed. This would create a flow of fresh air from the outside.
“That’s just what we do,” said Tech. Sgt. John Camacho, 254RHS Structural craftsman. “When we do a job, we want to make sure we cover all bases and do what we can to make it right.”
IRT is a U.S. Department of Defense training opportunity, exclusive to the United States and its territories, that delivers a platform for military service members to conduct real-world, hands-on training while providing key services with lasting benefits to American communities. Visit IRT.defense.gov or contact Maj. Nathan DeVoe at (770) 865-2856, or via email at Raymond.n.devoe.mil@mail.mil. (PR)
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- Airman 1st Class Kenneth Karosich, electrical systems apprentice, from the Guam Air National Guard’s 254th Red Horse Squadron, measures and cuts electrical wires for the ventilation in the biohazard machine enclosure at the Tinian Health Clinic. (MASTER. SGT. ELEANOR ATOIGUE/GUAM AIR NATIONAL GUARD)
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- Tech. Sgt. Patrick Norberg, at left, and Tech. Sgt. John Camacho, structural journeymen, from the Guam Air National Guard’s 254th Red Horse Squadron, measure the area for the wooden frame where the ventilation window will be installed to allow “fresh air return” in the Tinian Health Clinic. (MASTER. SGT. ELEANOR ATOIGUE/GUAM AIR NATIONAL GUARD)
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- Staff Sgt. Joseph Rapolla, structural craftsman, at left, and Airman 1st Class Vincent Sablan, structural apprentice, from the Guam Air National Guard’s 254th Red Horse Squadron, measure and install the aluminum brackets for the biohazard machine enclosure at the Tinian Health Clinic. (MASTER. SGT. ELEANOR ATOIGUE/GUAM AIR NATIONAL GUARD)
