Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea—Imagine finally sitting down to take a break and enjoy dinner at the end of a long work day.
The food is warmed and on the table and then there’s a loud “beep” and a message alerting everyone around of an emergency.
That emergency is a smoke alarm at a dormitory and that food has to wait. It’s time to respond and save the day—yet again.
That’s what it’s like to be a firefighter at the 8th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire department. These men and women have no time to truly kick their feet up and let their guards down completely. And with a motto like “Always Read!,” these ‘fire dawgs’ are prepared to care for members of the Wolf Pack at moment’s notice.
Staff Sgt. Britt Beshear, 8th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire department lead firefighter, says “The most challenging part of the job is having to constantly be ready to respond to the next emergency. You can never completely relax.”
That rings especially true at Kunsan because of the no-fail flying mission. With that being the case making sure the aircraft, flight line, and those that maintain them are good-to-go are the main priority for the fire department. To ensure their readiness and ability to respond with quickness and proficiency, training is an essential part of their day-to-day work.
“Every day we set aside time for training and it varies depending on our requirements and Kunsan-specific training we would like to do. You can never be truly prepared for every situation but we make sure to practice like we play. We try to make our training as realistic as possible,” says Tech. Sgt. Christian Arvelo, 8th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire department assistant chief of operations.
Beshear says, “The training frequency also helps to keep us competent and confident when we are responding.”
In addition to making sure the firefighters are trained and ready to respond, they must also make sure their trucks and equipment are prepped and in good condition. This daily task that is critical to their response mission.
“Our day starts out with roll call, we go over our truck assignments and we check all of our tools and equipment on every truck to make sure they work properly and quickly. Then it’s meetings, training and waiting to respond to the next call,” says Beshear.
While the ‘fire dawgs’ are waiting to respond to calls, they use that time to keep their bodies in tip-top shape at their in-station gym.
“The type of physical fitness required to carry out the everyday tasks of a firefighter is different to what we do with our Air Force fitness test. You can put someone on a track and they can run an eight-minute mile and a half but then you put them on a fire ground and they’re struggling. It’s just a different type of conditioning,” says Beshear.
In addition to working out together, the shift members also cook and share meals very frequently during ‘shift-dinners’ in their well-equipped kitchen. Doing activities together helps increase the bond that is required for the dangerous work these members do.
“If a department operates the way it’s supposed to, like it does at Kunsan, the bonds you make with the people on your shift should make them your closest friends. It’s important to trust them because they might have to save your life one day or you might have to save them,” says Beshear.
Arvelo agrees that working and training together helps with the bond and he also says it helps with the customer service aspect of their job. Working to help so many different people in varying situations also requires more mental resiliency and patience than the average job. It’s a public service that requires interaction with people all over base and many of them speak Korean.
“Working on shift with our Korean National firefighters helps us maintain the bonds we’ve built with our allied partnership. It also helps when we have to interact and train with the local Korean fire department and when we have to respond to Republic of Korea Air Force emergencies,” says Arvelo.
The members of the Kunsan fire department work 24/7 for a mission essential and critical job. There are no holidays off, or guaranteed hot meals, the job is unpredictable with longer work hours and a lot of time away from family and friends. But they make the best of the situation they’re in.
“I just show up and save lives and look good doing it, that’s my mission,” says Beshear with a laugh.
| Date Taken: | 04.10.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.09.2020 22:54 |
| Story ID: | 367061 |
| Location: | KR |
| Web Views: | 33 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Kunsan FD: competent and confident, by SSgt AJ Duprey, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
