Photo By Master Sgt. John Gordinier | JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska--U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Brittney...... read more read more
Subscribe
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – “Standby, Standby (crackling sound), this is the Elmendorf Tower with an in-flight emergency (IFE) on an F-18…landing on runway 6, ETA 10 minutes.”
After hearing the tower’s air traffic control report over Fire Station 1’s loudspeaker, U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Brittney Jordan, 673rd Civil Engineer Squadron (CES) firefighter, bolts to her locker and has just 60 seconds to put on her firefighting gear and depart the station.
“I’ve been a firefighter (stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson) for about three months now and this is my first duty assignment,” Jordan said. “Exercise Northern Edge has given me some great operational experience.”
Firefighters are on 24-hour standby, 7 days per week and work 24-hour shifts. They are fully prepared for the increase in operations that come with Exercise Northern Edge.
“We are always ready to respond,” said U.S. Air Force MSgt.Daniel Blair, 673rd CES Battalion Chief.
On day two of Exercise Northern Edge 2017, the fire department responded to six IFEs and on day three, they responded to three IFEs, Blair said. Typical operations respond to one or two per week, but due to the increase in aircraft activity for NE17, firefighters were prepared for increased in-flight emergencies.
“To prepare for Exercise Northern Edge, we had to find out what aircraft are participating in the exercise and learn the emergency procedures for each airframe, and then make sure we have all of the equipment needed in case we have to pin the aircraft or egress the pilot,” Blair said. “Pinning the aircraft means to add pins to lock the brakes, lock the gears and render the aircraft safer for approach.”
Emergency procedures include shutting down the aircraft, opening the canopy, pinning the gears and supporting the pilot’s exit, all of which has to be learned for every plane landing.
“We are very familiar with the emergency procedures on the airframes stationed here, like the F-22 Raptor, E-3 Sentry and C-17 Globemaster III,” Blair said. “We had to educate ourselves for the F-15s, F-16s, F-35s and F-18s to name a few.”
During low-level IFE, firefighters depart their fire engines, circle around the aircraft and ensure nothing is leaking or on fire. After making sure the aircraft is fire-safe, recovery personnel will go in and talk with the pilot and find out what he or she wants to do next.
“IFEs can be something small or something big,” Blair said. “It could even be a problem with the pilot. Some examples of IFEs include flight control problems, fueling issues and landing gear issues. Any type of emergency light that come on in the cockpit, the pilots will call it in.”
Typically there are six fire stations open for operations, but due to increased aircraft movement during the exercise, crews opened a seventh and moved a firetruck there to make sure firefighting assets are spread out for more efficient access during emergencies.
“Once we have multiple aircraft coming in for a landing, it becomes challenging to cross the flightline,” Blair said. “Plus, each airframe requires a different ‘gallonage,’ which means amount of water or foam. For instance, I can safely respond to a fighter aircraft IFE with one crash truck, but a heavy airframe we will need to respond with three crash trucks.”
“We have approximately 15 to 20 new firefighters that are within six months from technical school graduation and Exercise Northern Edge is providing opportunities for them to learn their trade and practice IFE procedures,” Blair continued.
Airman Jordan and her team of firefighters return to the fire house upon the completion of the IFE, but their work is never-ending. The crew spends the next 45 minutes ensuring all of their tools and gear are inspected and placed in the right location in preparation for the next time a pilot needs firefighting and emergency support.
| Date Taken: | 05.04.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.05.2017 19:51 |
| Story ID: | 232822 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 129 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fire Department responds to IFEs for Exercise Northern Edge, by MSgt John Gordinier, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
