Literally on the line of fire

The job requires commitment, willpower, and common sense. It is physically and emotionally demanding, with 24-hour shifts.

You need to be a team player. You must be able to think clearly and quickly in situations where seconds can mean the difference of life and death.

This much I learned about aircraft rescue and firefighting from the two mornings I and other reporters joined CNMI and Palau firefighters as they took a re-certification training on responding to aircraft disaster.

People commonly think that firefighters at the airport just sit around and play ping-pong. But nothing could be further from the truth, as I discovered.

On Thursday last week, I and the rest of the class went through a crash course in using the silver firefighting suit and self-contained breathing apparatus. After a brief classroom discussion, the participants put on the gear and got ready for a nine-step drill exercise.

Lt. Felix Cepeda helped me as I labored into the 10-pound suit, including the helmet, boots, gloves, and breathing apparatus. Firefighters responding to an actual aircraft incident are supposed to put the entire uniform on in less than 60 seconds, he said. “Every second counts in aircraft rescue. You’ve got to be quick and proficient in doing this,” he said.

Participants were given a few minutes to acclimatize to the suit and the drill exercises [or “evolution”] began.

Clad in full firefighting gear, we went through [or in my case, tried to go through] the entire procedure which entailed stacking and un-stacking three rolled hoses; hammering a spare tire forward; pulling a rope with a 180-pound dummy on a stretcher on other end; straight-rolling a hose; climbing a ladder; carrying two buckets of dry chemicals; knocking down a cone using water; crawling under a table; and pulling another 180-pound dummy.

Cepeda said that while firefighters undergo this kind of training only two to four times a year, their normal day at work is quite as rigorous.

“We work 24 hours, two days a week. At daytime, we clean the trucks and the station. Then, we spend two hours going through the SOPs [standard operating procedure]. In the afternoon, we go out for a one-mile run and do our push ups and sit ups. We play basketball or any team games. The goal is always to keep ourselves physically fit and ready for emergency,” he said.

With a backache, I came back to the training facility on Friday morning, this time to help extinguish a fuel fire that simulates an aircraft on fire.

Completed last April, the facility is equipped with a full size aircraft mock-up measuring 72 feet in length and 16 feet in diameter, similar to a DC-10 aircraft. The mock-up uses actual jet fuel to burn, making the training as realistic as possible and meets all training requirements set by federal government agencies.

But even in a controlled environment such as the ARFF training facility, something could go wrong, as the training officer, Capt. James Diaz, stressed.

Therefore, safety is paramount, he said. “Approach the fire using extreme safety precaution; adjust to changing condition; be aware of your surroundings at all times, and don’t turn your back on the fire,” he instructed.

Teamwork, I found out at the live fire training, is another important factor in the firefighting job. Everyone is each other’s responsibility in the field. You have to watch the back of your teammates and you can be assured that they are watching yours.

With the help of my teammates, putting out the engine fire did not turn out quite as difficult as I thought it would be. Through the whole process, there was someone guiding my every step and another helping me haul the hose. All I had to do was practically hold the nozzle as firm as I could with my gloved hands and aim it to the direction of the fire.

The CNMI’s aircraft rescue and firefighting team is currently short of staff and calling on volunteers to temporarily fill the positions of U.S. Army reservists who have been called to active duty.

From what I saw in two days, the job can be demanding and challenging, but ultimately very enjoyable and gratifying. So will I recommend it? Certainly.