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FORT McCOY, Wis. – Flames lick the walls and interior
temperatures exceed 1,000 degrees; the oppressive wall of
heat and thick choking smoke mock the perfect summer day
that lies just outside the door. As the firefighters make
their way through the black interior, their thoughts aren't
on barbecues and swimming pools but on victims,
communication and safety.
This is the scene at the
Fort McCoy, Wis., burn house during Warrior Exercise 86. The
first responders are members of the 392nd Engineer
Detachment, Firefighters, Houston, Texas, here for their
Extended Combat Training.
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Staff Sgt. Juan Rosado, team chief, 392nd Engineer Detachment,
Firefighters, Houston, Texas, follows his team into the burn house
during their scenario evaluation at Warrior Exercise 86 at Fort
McCoy, WI on July 19, 2013. The 392nd is at WAREX 86 for their extended
combat training. (Photo by US Army Sgt. First Class Lisa M
Litchfield, 319th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)
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ECT gives units the chance
to train in environments difficult to attain at home
station, and for the 392nd, this is no different.
“This is a unique training opportunity,” said Staff Sgt.
Martin Majda, lead trainer, 923rd Eng. Det., Firefighters,
Fort McCoy, Wis. “To be able to actually come out and use a
structure like this where you have invaluable assets, where
you can get in and you can do so many different types of
training.“
The structure Majda refers to is the Fort
McCoy burn house; a training aid not often afforded to units
back at home station.
The burn house is a
three-story, metal building with temperature-rated clay
tiles. These tiles are designed as a safety control,
cracking if the temperature in the building exceeds training
standards for heat. Thermocouplers in each room monitor
temperatures as an extra measure of control.
The
building is also able to adapt to a variety of changing
scenarios, dependent on the needs of the training unit. A
smoke machine at the rear of the structure is made of PVC
pipe, each pipe leading to a different room. Trainers are
able to send smoke to any or all of the rooms depending on
training needs and to add to the realism of the fire. In
several of the rooms, the walls are on casters and rollers
so trainers can move closets, hallways and entrances for
each scenario, eliminating the chance for building to become
familiar after several days of training. There are even
doors that can be added and removed each time the
firefighters enter.
“They've been able to do fire
training, live fire training with actual fire, heat and
smoke,” said Majda. “They've done some rescue training, put
their gear on and gone in there and felt the intensity of
how everything is going to go, and had it at their disposal.
This has really been their facility.”
For a unit
that hasn't been able to perform their primary firefighting
mission for more than three years, this training was a
welcome refresher of their skills.
“We've been
together for awhile, but we haven't actually trained as a
fire team yet,” said Staff Sgt. Juan Rosado, team chief,
392nd Eng. Det. “This is our first time working together as
a fire team ... putting the team together is amazing with the
cohesion we've got going on.”
For the past three
years, the team has been on special mission, working with
the Federal Emergency Management Agency on National Defense
projects and search and rescue missions instead of fire
calls. This training combines both.
“Rescue is more
stressful, takes a lot more out of you,” said Sgt. Fredrick
Smith, lead fire fighter for the 392nd. “It's time consuming
and something you have to be extremely thorough with; if you
miss something or someone that's in a building, then they
could lose their life.”
“Today is actually our final
scenario ... the final fire,” he explained. “The trainers we
have been working with are Fort McCoy's actual firefighters
and they've taught us some new techniques that we hadn't
seen, so we're going to be using some of those techniques ...
We're going to implement some of their assets and skills and
see how they work with us. Try to make it a little faster, a
little better.”
According to the evaluation team,
the unit has been responding well to the challenges put
before them.
“The biggest success for them is that
they adapt well,” said Sgt. 1st Class Paul Dziepak,
observer, controller/trainer, 335th Training Support
Battalion. “The instructors, the mentors, the fire
department that is actually training them, they've given
them some good tips and they are actually incorporating them
into stuff they know and are actually picking up on a lot of
things, changing things and adapting well to new
techniques.”
Rosado said his team appreciated the
insights and assistance given by the OCTs and fire trainers
over the past week.
Firefighting doesn't change,” he
said. “It's the same no matter where you go. You have to
follow the same rules, but there are techniques and other
things they can bring to the game.”
Firefighting
doesn't change, the rules stay the same and Rosado and his
team are ready to accept that challenge.
“When
everyone else is headed out, we are headed in.”
By US Army Sgt. First Class Lisa Litchfield
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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