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STRATTON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Scotia, New York -- Twelve members of the 109th
Airlift Wing’s fire department earned national certification in wild-land firefighting; a range of
firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires and protect populated areas, during a training
course which concluded on April 9, 2022.
“Firefighting efforts in wild land areas require a different skill set than what we are used to,”
explained Staff Sgt. Daniel Drumm. Drumm is a fire crew chief with the 109th, and wild land
subject matter expert.
“Techniques, equipment and training related to wild land firefighting are very different from the
structure fires,” Drumm said.
“Firefighters work with specially designed aerial firefighting aircraft --these suppress flames--
while we construct fire lines and extinguish flames to protect resources and natural
wilderness,” Drum explained.
The certification consisted of 30 hours of classroom instruction, as well as field training
conducted through the National Wildfire Coordinating Group at the local Albany Pine Bush
Preserve.
The National Wildfire Coordinating Group provides national leadership to enable interoperable
wild land fire operations among federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners.
The field training provided in depth training in wild land firefighting tactics and practices;
challenging participants to learn and utilize techniques unique to the environment to fight
simulated fires, Drumm said.
Firefighting in wild land conditions requires firefighters to carry 45 pounds of gear over many
miles while tracking and suppressing spreading flames, Drumm said.
To simulate this, the Airmen carried their gear on a three-mile run.
“Our biggest challenge is learning that help may be miles or hours away while fighting a
wildfire,” said Master Sgt. Brian Devlin, who took part in the training. “Inside a burning building,
help is always just outside the front door.”
The classes covered everything from the science of weather effects on wildfires to how
firefighters can transition from structural firefighting, equipped with oxygen tanks and heavy
“turnout gear” to wearing only leather boots and a hard hat, Drumm said.
“But the different circumstances helped us grow as a team,” Devlin said. “We’ve learned to rely
on each other in the field, and we’ve carried that over into all aspects of the department and
improved capabilities across the board,” Devlin added.
With a trained 12-person wild land firefighting team, the 109th fire department will always have
an available team ready to deploy whenever and wherever they are needed, Drumm
emphasized.
This capability enables the team to participate in domestic operations fighting wildfires in the
western United States, Drumm said.
Or, he added, the team could go to South Africa, where they have trained with their South
African counterparts, to help them deal with fires there.
In 2019, eleven 109th Airlift Wing firefighters spent two weeks learning how to battle brush fires with
60 South African firefighters in a training program run by South African National Parks at Table
Mountain National Park.
The training was conducted as part of the New York National Guard’s State Partnership Program
with the South African National Defence Force.
The 109th Airlift Wing’s Fire Department at Stratton Air National Guard Base employs 45 full
time and part time firefighters, who are responsible for fire prevention and protection of all
facilities and aircraft on the installation.
| Date Taken: | 06.01.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 12.31.1969 19:00 |
| Story ID: | 422016 |
| Location: | SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, New York Airmen certify for fighting wildfires, by MSgt Jamie Spaulding, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
