MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Station emergency response teams tested their ability to contain a fuel spill during an unexpected training exercise near the station’s port facility here Wednesday.
The Provost Marshal’s Office, Fire Department and Fuels Surface Division participated in the semiannual exercise, keeping both work forces and supervisors prepared to handle fuel spills.
“If we don’t do the training, then we wouldn’t know what to do,” said Seaman Apprentice Levi Wilkes, boatswain’s mate. “We’d just be running around like chickens with our heads cut off.”
The exercise simulated a vehicle hitting fuel pipes just off the road causing fuel to leak onto the road and into the surrounding water. A bystander on the scene called PMO, who was not expecting the call, to report the incident.
Within minutes, a complete emergency response team was on the scene.
“It’s vital that we train like we’re going through the real thing,” said Devin A. Johnston-Lee, station Fire Department fire chief. “If we’re unable to contain and mitigate a fuel spill, it can cause immense damage to the environment and to our reputation to the host nation.”
At the scene of the mock emergency, responders attended to the vehicle’s driver while others secured the leaking pipe. The participants simulated a large amount of oil running into an adjacent body of water. A crane was used lowering two boats into the water. Sailors from the station’s surface division operated the two vessels using a surface skimming technique containing the spill to a small part of the lake. A vacuum truck then moved into position pumping out the fuel, signaling the completion of the mission.
Afterward, department supervisors met and evaluated the performance and agreed it was up to standard, but identified areas needing improvement.
“During practice, we work out glitches and are able to better our response procedures,” said Johnston-Lee. “We always learn something that can make us more efficient.”