MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Rookie firefighters from the Iwakuni City Fire Department recently got the chance to go face to face with their adversary, fire, during a real life scenario in the Station's burn tower.
Although the fires were not large, the experience the new firefighters received was far greater than anything they could receive in their training facilities. Thanks to the new mutual aid agreement signed between the Station and Iwakuni City, training like this is now possible.
"This training is a direct result of the mutual aid agreement we signed with the city," said Devin Johnston-Lee, Station fire chief. "It enables our small department to utilize the resources of the surrounding community in the event we have a large fire that overcomes the equipment and manpower we have here. The benefit to the city is that we get to offer them our specialties, such as heavy rescue, swift water rescue and confined space rescue."
The agreement also allowed the rookie fire fighters, who are nearing the end of their training, to conduct live fire exercises in the burn tower. The three-story metal and concrete structure is specially designed to have fires built inside of it for training firefighters. To the Japanese, it is an invaluable tool.
"We are conducting live-fire training here because we don't have any facilities like this one in the downtown Iwakuni area," said Kiyomi Tao, West Iwakuni City Fire Station fire captain. "Residential areas surround the city fire department, so we only have a smoke house and cannot make a fire."
The firefighters donned their equipment and spent several hours over two days practicing in the smoke-and-fire filled building. Firefighters made their way through the three-story building, which filled with smoke and had temperatures of more than 200 degrees. Rooms were setup as office and living spaces. Within those areas, dummies were hidden for the rescuers to find.
The alternative to training on Station would provide far less for the new firefighters, according to Johnston-Lee.
"If they were not able to use the tower, they would have to use a propane system, which really doesn't accurately portray the fire situation they will run into," Johnston-Lee said. "That's why it's always nice to have a real structure that we can burn materials in. This will give them an opportunity to practice their skills in a controlled environment, instead of throwing them right into a structure fire for the first time."
For firefighters, facing fire is one of the biggest obstacles they must overcome, Tao explained.
"It is very good training because if you have smoke, low visibility and if you feel the heat you will understand the fear of fire, and training like this gets them over that fear," he said.
The Station and Iwakuni City Fire Department currently conduct training like this twice a year. However, the extent of training would not be possible without the cooperation between the Station and Iwakuni City.
"These are the same types of conditions they will face in a real structure fire," Johnston-Lee said. "This training is an outstanding opportunity for them."