Ready mindsets keep Manas firefighters geared up

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Ready mindsets keep Manas firefighters geared up
The day-to-day operations in a fire department
can sometimes be slow, but you learn how to savor
those times, as many days are spent training or
running calls. Dustin Miller
Story and photo by Tech. Sgt. Phyllis
Hanson MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan  -- Whether
protecting the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing's
flightline or the living quarters and support
facilities, civilian-contractor firefighters
serving with the 376th Expeditionary Civil
Engineer Squadron stand ready.
Firefighting personnel at Manas are essential
elements to protecting people and assets and to
do so, takes strength, stamina and continual
training to always be ready for anything.
Each member actively participates in a mandatory
physical fitness program, attends scheduled
training within the department such as structural
firefighting tactics, aircraft familiarization,
confined-space training, aircraft rescue fire
fighting vehicle familiarization, hazardous
materials, aircraft egress, said Roy Hernandez,
chief of fire and emergency services. He and his
team are contractors assigned to the 376th ECES.
All our personnel undergo practical
training in which all the aforementioned classes
are put into real-world scenarios, said Chief
Hernandez. When firefighters are not
attending a class or training,
they are performing fire prevention surveys
(commonly known as inspections) averaging 52 per
month. The day-to-day operations in a
fire department can sometimes be slow, but you
learn how to savor those times, as many days are
spent training or running calls, said Dustin
Miller, whos been a firefighter for 13 years.
Prince Franklin (left) and Ryan Ranger do mask
and gear checks before an on-ground emergency
landing, or egress, exercise using a KC-135
Stratotanker on the flightline at Manas Air Base,
Kyrgyzstan.