Use in case of emergency

By Private John Wellfare

A 381ECSS fire truck returns from a call out to a simulated aircraft accident.

Photo by PTE John Wellfare

FIRE fighters deployed to RAAF Scherger during Exercise Kakadu had to consider the threat scenario when responding to simulated emergencies on the base.

Providing a fire-fighting capability for both exercise and real emergencies throughout the deployment, the fire section had to respond to incidents on and off the flight line.

Senior fire fighter Sergeant Tony Hopper said he and his team, all from No. 381 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron, based at Williamtown, had to be aware of the broader exercise situation when responding to emergencies.

“In these exercise scenarios, the [Airfield Defence Guard] quick reaction force go out and make sure it’s clear before we move in,” he said.

“There is a possibility that it could slow our response down, but at the end of the day, if we’re still going to be alive at the end, I don’t think anyone would complain.”

For real emergencies, the fire team’s response was the first priority and exercise threat considerations had been discarded. The fire fighters had only been called out to a few minor incidents during the exercise.

In the training scenarios, however, the team dealt with a range of major emergencies, including bomb attacks and a simulated Hercules crash.

Sergeant Hopper said the fire fighters had made getting to know their way around the base a top priority.

“For a lot of the guys, it’s their first time at this airfield, so we’ve done a lot of base and airfield familiarisation, getting ourselves familiar with the layout, crash plan positioning [and] emergency procedures,” he said.

“One of my major roles is to advise the base commander on fire safety related issues, such as where to place fire points [and] come up with a base evacuation plan.”

 

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