OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- The 139th Airlift Wing Fire and Emergency Services from St. Joseph, Missouri recently visited firefighters from Offutt Air Force Base for some important training.
The 139th Fire and Emergency Services Team made the trip to Offutt AFB because their normal training site at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri was out of service.
“We were eager to accommodate them so training was setup for June 5 and 6,” said James Lencke, Offutt AFB deputy fire chief.
The 139th AW is a Missouri Air National Guard unit with a requirement to conduct aircraft and structural live fire training to ensure firefighters remain proficient in fire extinguishment and rescue procedures.
“The training we conducted was propane fires on our aircraft mock up to simulate realistic fires. Crews would enter the area and proceed to fight the fires as they would a real aircraft fire, giving them the opportunity to fight a training fire and be better prepared should they have to use these skills in the future,” said Todd Kiesel, Offutt Fire Rescue assistant chief.
There were a total of 34 Missouri Air National Guard firefighters from the 139th AW that participated in the training.
“The structural live fire trainer allowed us to exercise our fire ground tactics and procedures for structural scenarios which included laddering, fire stream application, and horizontal and vertical ventilation to name a few,” said Chief Master Sgt. Brian Jansen, 139th AW fire chief. “Offutt firefighters’ team approach to training was greatly appreciated.”