Photo By Lisa Tourtelot | Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting crewmen gather in front of a P-19 fire truck after a...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. - “We didn’t know what the emergency was at the time,” said Sgt. Eric Brazfield, an aircraft rescue and firefighting crewman here and a San Bernadino, Calif., native. Brazfield was a young ARFF crewman when he responded to an emergency aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
“[The pilot] veered off the taxi way and into the dirt,” said Brazfield. “We pulled off his mask and blood came pouring out. His sinuses had burst.”
Brazfield and his crew had to perform a platform rescue, or “snatch-and-grab,” to get the disabled pilot out of his aircraft and in an ambulance as quickly and safely as possible.
Now an ARFF crewman aboard MCAS Miramar, Brazfield, as well as the rest of the Miramar station, 3rd and 4th Marine Aircraft Wing ARFF Marines, train daily to respond to any emergency that may occur on the flight line.
The ARFF Marines gathered to rehearse platform rescues on Aug. 15, much like the one Brazfield assisted with aboard MCAS Beaufort.
The Marines practiced responding to a downed aircraft, with a fellow Marine “trapped” in the cockpit. They had to first control a simulated fire, then get into the cockpit and remove the trapped pilot.
“Our main priority here is to save lives and protect property,” said Sgt. Pedro Morales, an ARFF crewman and an El Paso, Texas, native. “We want to get [the pilot] out of there, and then save the plane.”
They could not use real fire during the drills because the Marines were practicing with a real passenger in the aircraft, but Morales explained that other drills with live fire help the ARFF professionals train for extraneous factors, such as smoke, wind and debris.
“We had to be prepared for anything,” said Brazfield of his experience in Beaufort. “Today’s training was the same. You have to keep your head on a swivel and take note of everything.”
ARFF’s next large training event will test the Marines’ skills as emergency vehicle operators, a critical aspect of their ability to respond to flight line emergencies.
“We have to train like lives depend on us,” said Morales.
Whether a plane is disabled or a pilot is suffering a medical emergency, like the pilot aboard MCAS Beaufort, the ARFF Marines here train to meet any challenge head-on.
| Date Taken: | 08.15.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 08.17.2011 18:00 |
| Story ID: | 75519 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 187 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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