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Live fire training for firefighters

  • Published
  • By Airman First Class Anthony Le
  • 178th Wing Public Affairs
LOCKBOURNE, Ohio --  More than 10 members of the 178th Wing Fire Emergency Services took part in an annual live fire training exercise at Rickenbacker AFB, Lockbourne, Ohio, Aug. 3.
“It’s an annual requirement for firefighters to have live fire training,” said Senior Master Sgt. Brian K. Stiteler, deputy chief of the Fire Emergency Services. “Being in the Air Force, especially, they don’t have the opportunity to see actual fire all the time. This way they see it every year and will be prepared when they would encounter the real thing.”
Stiteler said that this was a much needed exercise and would help improving mission readiness for his firefighters.
“Muscle memory is extremely important in our occupation,” said Stiteler. “The more that I can put a guy or a gal in this environment the better they are going to be able to respond and recognize something being out of the ordinary in the real environment.”
Senior Airman Peter Morris, a firefighter with the Fire Emergency Services flight, said that the exercise will help him to be ready for his job.
“It’s been a while since I had the opportunity to do burn on an aircraft so it’s great to get inside one to see what it looks like and what we’re supposed to do,” said Morris. “Any chance we get to be around the aircrafts will help us to see what it’s like in the real world, especially when we deploy.”
The firefighters went through an exercise that simulated a situation where there were a plane crash or an in-flight emergency.