ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D., - To train as you fight in today's armed services, it is important for training exercises to be as close to the real thing as possible ... but how do you train effectively if your chosen military profession is to fight fires?
The answer is simple. All it takes is a slightly overcast day, some mock ups of an airplane and a three-story building, a little jet fuel and a properly placed heating element to spark some realistic firefighting training.
Military firefighters from Illinois, Massachusetts and South Dakota experienced this volatile training cocktail first hand here June 14 as part of this year's Golden Coyote training exercise.
The teams worked to perfect their firefighting skills by extinguishing fires in two different training scenarios: an aircraft crash site fire and a structural fire.
"The aircraft burn operation is a fire and rescue simulation," said Warrant Officer Wade Lein, commander of the 216th Engineer Detachment (Firefighter Headquarters) and the 451st Firefighting Team, both of which are National Guard units located in Sturgis, S.D.
"It simulates an aircraft that has crashed, and you have to put the fire out and rescue the aircraft personnel," he added.
Given the hazards of moving around in a freshly-burned structure and exposure to high concentrations of jet fuel, Lein said the firefighters typically practice rescue techniques during other training events.
In the structural fire and rescue scenario, Lein explained the trainers start a fire inside the building and the firefighters are responsible for going into the dark and smoky environment to search for survivors.
"They don't extinguish the fires in this scenario," Lein added, "as it is more about becoming familiar with how a fire will spread through a building."
Air Force Master Sgt. Steven O'Connell, incident commander for the training event who is currently stationed at Ellsworth, said both scenarios use the jet fuel JP-8 as the primary combustible, and as a result, both scenarios are dangerously real.
"Using jet fuel allows the fire teams to actually put out a real full-on fire," O'Connell said. "There is real danger involved here. We have key positions manned to make sure everything is done safely, and that everyone is wearing their protective gear properly, because the fires get extremely hot."
O'Connell also said Ellsworth is only one of five sites in the United States that uses jet fuel in its training scenarios, and that the majority of Air Force bases use propane, which is run on a switch that can be more easily controlled.
"The propane scenarios are run by individuals working valves or switches," he said, "and when firefighters are showing proper technique, the valve operator will turn down the propane, which extinguishes the fire."
Though the propane method is safer and seemingly more controllable, Soldiers like Sgt. 1st Class Austin Hagen, fire chief for the 216th and 10-year veteran of the South Dakota National Guard, say you can't get the same experience as putting out a fire fueled by JP-8.
"Basically, the jet fuel fires are contained, but not controlled," Hagen said, "so these guys get an idea of what will happen when they use the wrong hose pattern or push the fire the wrong the way. They're making sure they're watching what they're doing."
James Carpenter, shift battalion chief for the 28th Civil Engineering Squadron at Ellsworth who has over 30 years of firefighting experience in the Air Force, said he feels this training is probably the most realistic he's seen.
"I don't think you can get any closer to the real world," said Carpenter. "With this kind of fire, there is no control. What's burning is actually burning, and when the firefighters put out the fire, they are actually doing it on their own."
But no training event is perfect. Even the best training scenarios have the occasional challenge to overcome...and it is no different at this training site.
O'Connell said one of the biggest challenges involves the frequent air traffic, which is a given at any Air Force base. When planes are landing or taking off, the fires cannot be lit due to the plumes that rise into the air.
"One of the things we wish we had control over is the delays we get from air traffic," said O'Connell.
"While this training is being conducted, we still have Ellsworth's real-world mission going on, so delays are inevitable. So as much as we want to keep it rolling out here, we get put in these delays."
The Ellsworth staff members who assist with the training are comprised of both active duty military and full-time civilian firefighters (distinguishable by their silver proximity suits) and can be called away at any moment during training to respond to real-world incidents...which causes more delays in training.
"I'm sure the guys enjoy the break every now and then," O'Connell said, "but it can make for a long day when we get a lot of these kinds of disruptions."
The delays that occurred on this day didn't seem to dampen anyone's spirits, nor their desire to train. The fire teams began running scenarios at 8 a.m. and continued throughout the day until the sun went down.
Spc. Sean Fischer, a mechanic with the 216th who was cross-trained as a firefighter, said he was impressed with the realism and intensity of the training scenarios.
"I thought the training was really good," said Fischer. "We don't get a lot of opportunities to do live fire training, so it was good to get out and practice our skills."
Hagen agreed, but said he was just as pleased with the opportunity to work with the teams from different states as he was with the quality of training.
"One of the benefits of training with teams from other states is it allows you to get to know the people on each team," Hagen said. "It's good to have that rapport and good working relationship already established, as you may see them again when you're deployed."