Photo By Sgt. James Sims | Firefighter Aaron Jackson removes the hose from the fire truck in order to conduct...... read more read more
Subscribe
By Sgt. james d. sims
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Brush fires, car fires, vehicle rollovers, medical emergencies, fire alarms and cliff rescues are just a few of the incidents, which firefighters serving Joint Task Force Guantanamo, respond to, at a moment’s notice.
“We are here to protect buildings and structures; we deal with brush fires, inspections to ensure buildings are fire code compliant, and medical emergencies,” said Station Four Fire Capt. Granville Ferguson, a 14-year department veteran. “Whatever emergencies take place on the JTF side, this firehouse responds. However, if there is a fire, all stations respond no matter where on the base it is located.”
According to the mission statement of the fire and emergency services found on the U.S. Naval Station GTMO website, The GTMO Fire, Crash and Rescue Department has the primary responsibility of both life safety and property protection. The department diligently prepares and executes these services on behalf of all community personnel.
To confront the life and property threat that is present at all times, a relentless pursuit of prevention as the optimum solution to this threat is the foundation for all endeavors. The performance of these duties directly impacts the ability of this command to meet their
primary mission.
Some of the firefighters were certified prior to their arrival at GTMO; others have been trained here upon being accepted to the department. Certified instructors are brought to GTMO to conduct a fire academy for new recruits, there are also online certification courses, which accommodates additional classifications needed through the Air Force.
“This month a new class of approximately 25 firefighter candidates will start the academy,” said Orain Thompson, a firefighter with house four since 2013 and former police officer in Jamaica. “The instructors will be provided by the University of Maryland to conduct the academy here on GTMO.”
The firefighters are certified at many different levels and in different areas.
“We do medical runs, have hazardous material technicians, conduct rescue and fire suppression but back in the United States they have separate trucks that handle each of those calls,” said Ferguson.
Firefighters take on a lot of responsibility when it comes to dealing with saving lives, protecting property and buildings. That is amplified as firefighters take on multiple roles within the department.
“The dynamics between being a firefighter here and in Jamaica is not so different, “said Kaiser Heath, a firefighter here since 2013 and a firefighter in Jamaica before moving to GTMO. “However, we do many more building inspections here. Back home there is a separate team of inspectors that takes care of the building inspections.”
It could be argued that GTMO is definitely different than anywhere else in the world, with unique qualities as well as challenges, but for the firefighters safety seems to be a common thread.
“It is also much safer here and there are fewer emergency calls to respond to here,” said Heath.
Firefighters answer the call of duty for many different reasons but why would a seasoned veteran give up what he had in his home country and make the change to an isolated post on the south eastern edge of Cuba?
“My reason for opting for a firefighter position in GTMO was to further my career,” said Heath. “Back home I was a firefighter and EMT but I needed Airfield Firefighting and Rescue and did not have that opportunity there.”
Sitting in a firehouse at GTMO, the excitement level has potential, where there is a threat of hurricanes and tropical storms; vehicle fires and rollovers; house, office and structure fires; but most of the firefighters consider this a very safe environment and count it as a privilege to serve here.
| Date Taken: | 09.11.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2016 11:43 |
| Story ID: | 190664 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 74 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fire Station IV responds to the call, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
