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Helicopter squad contains brush fire in southern Guam
Sailors assigned to the “Island Knight” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 pose for a photo after providing aerial firefighting for a brush fire that occurred in the Naval Magazine area of Santa Rita last April 22.
(U.S. NAVY /PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS JORDAN CROUCH)
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam—The Guam-based “Island Knights” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 provided aerial firefighting for southern Guam, along the northeastern edge of Naval Magazine, when a brush fire quickly began to spread and threaten local homes of Santa Rita last April 21.
U.S. Navy Fire and Joint Regions Marianas notified HSC-25 that evening that the fire was out of control and HSC-25s assistance was required.
The HSC-25 aerial firefighting was led by aircraft commander, Lt. Nicklaus Gfeller, and successfully contained the fire using 4,200 gallons of water.
“The maintenance duty section did a fantastic job of quickly modifying the aircraft configuration to support fire bucket operations,” said Gfeller. “he flight crew quickly found our rhythm to effectively drop water on the fire to contain it.”
The incident was the second firefighting request to HSC-25 in 2019 to date.
“Our sailors work diligently day in and day out to ensure our aircraft are capable of 24/7 support anywhere in the…Marianas,” said HSC-25 commanding officer Cmdr. Frank Loforti. “Yesterday’s aerial firefighting was one of the many examples of how rewarding their hard work can be. I could not be [prouder] of the Island Knight maintainers and flight crew this Easter evening.”
HSC-25 provides a multi-mission rotary wing capability for units in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations and maintains a Guam-based 24-hour search and rescue and medical evacuation capability, directly supporting U.S. Coast Guard and Joint Region Marianas. HSC-25 is the Navy’s only forward-deployed MH-60S expeditionary squadron. (Amphibious Force 7th Fleet Public Affairs)
