Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan Seelbach | Damage Controlman Fireman Jason Wiggins, from Dinwiddie, Virginia, assigned to USS...... read more read more
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USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Sailors conducted the first integrated fire drill with Newport News Shipyard (NNS) firefighters, Sept. 10, 2021, after arriving at NNS for a scheduled maintenance period. .
Conducting drills and training allowsSailors and their civilian counterparts to learn how to successfully combat casualties as one unit.
Ensign Jeremey Luallen, Ford’s fire marshal, explained that by knowing how each team works separately, both teams can work towards achieving the same goal.
“I think that the integration worked perfectly. It allowed us to be confident in our ability to have NNS firefighters come on and support our team,” said Luallen. “The shipyard environment proposes different risks than pierside Norfolk and there is a lot of work going on, so to have NNS to come on and support our teams is invaluable.”
Each day, the ship’s inport emergency team (IET), led by the damage control training team (DCTT) performs routine training and drills during their duty day. They practice combating casualties such as fires and flooding in different areas of the ship to always be prepared for any situation that might arise day or night.
Personnel Specialist 1st Class Brendan Curry, from Easton, Maryland, assigned to Ford’s administration department and a lead damage control training team (DCTT) member, works with Sailors on a daily basis to ensure they understand their role while combating casualties.
“Fires are a reality,” said Curry. “We’re in the shipyard and it’s an industrial environment so you have to be prepared for anything. We always train like we fight and fight like we train.”.
During the drill, Ford’s IET manned two hose teams and fought a simulated fire in a paint storage room, while the command duty officer called NNS Fire for support. During the simulated casualty, the Sailors responded using aqueous film forming foam to suppress the fire.
“If we wait for a catastrophe to happen to perform, will we be able to withstand the test?” asked Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 1st Class Corey Williams, from Houston, assigned to Ford’s air department and a DCTT member. “If we wait for something to happen to learn how to do our jobs, then we were never ready in the first place. We have to maintain consistency, because without that, there is no proficiency.”
Upon their arrival to the ship, NNS firefighters integrated with the ship’s fire team and manneda third hose team. Once integrated, NNS together with Ford’s IET combated the casualty until it was deemed put out by the ship’s fire marshal.
“To have NNS integrate with our people in a training scenario allows the integration to be better when an actual situation occurs,” said Luallen. “It was a great job overall by both teams. Seeing the training that took place today, it’s evident that Ford Sailors are ready to perform.”
Ford is inport at Newport News Shipyard executing her Planned Incremental Availability (PIA), a six-month period of modernization, maintenance, and repairs.
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 09.20.2021 09:02 |
| Story ID: | 405590 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 171 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Ford Completes Integrated Fire Drill with NNS Firefighters, by PO1 Ryan Seelbach, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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