MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Members from the station Fire Department, Provost Marshal’s Office, and Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting trained during a mid-rise building collapse scenario as part of Exercise Active Shield VII, Jan. 17.
The situation brought the station first responders together to rescue eight victims trapped underneath a heap of rubble.
Alvin M. Arita, Station Fire Department assistant chief of training and safety officer during the evolution, said the situation was beneficial to the firefighters because they utilized a wide range of capabilities, including new listening, lifting, and heavy rescue techniques.
The training began when firefighters used an Urban Search and Rescue Listening Device to locate victims.
One victim, Pvt. Lacey P. Pritchard, Combat Logistics Company 36 diesel mechanic, suffered head injuries, which firefighters took into account before rescuing her.
“I was removed, then placed on a stretcher and my head was secured,” said Pritchard, an Asheville, N.C., native.
ARFF Marines work load grew as they work to detoxify the rescued wounded. Victims need to be clean from possible contamination in order to receive medical attention.
Cleaning victims served as valuable training to the ARFF Marines, who have few chances to train alongside the Fire Department.
“It’s so hard to set a training scenario like this, with so much involved,” said Lance Cpl. Thomas J. Tannhof, ARFF responder and a native of Wooster, Ohio. “We’re real lucky.”
Arita, a native of Lihue, Hawaii, said the training taught firefighters new rescue techniques. They had to build supporting beams because of difficulties involved in rescuing someone trapped under a flipped vehicle next to a cracked wall.
“It was the first time we had to brace a building to rescue a body,” said Arita.
In the end, the evolution furthered the first responders’ expertise and reinforced their skills. From a victims standpoint, the exercise strengthened thier confidence in the first responders’ abilities.
“I am completely faithful they would do a good job because of the urgency they worked in,” said Pritchard. “They were fast, efficient and it makes them better able to handle a stressful situation.”