MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (ACCNS) -- Five firefighters from the 5th Civil Engineer Squadron here saved the lives of two local firefighters while battling a wild-fire April 19 in Trestle Valley.
Tthey all personified the Airman's Creed.
I AM AN AMERICAN AIRMAN.
Minot Fire Chief James Clifford heard the wailing of sirens and a horn blaring with urgency coming from somewhere amidst the thick dark grey smoke of the fire. This urgent cry for help was a fire truck in distress. Typically, when a fire truck has its sirens on when by itself and not on the road signaling for people to pull over, it is trying to get someone's attention because it is in trouble.¬
"He's in the smoke someplace over there, Paul. Go find him, go find him!" shouted Clifford to his crew chief, pointing into the smoke.
Clifford sent out his team: crew chiefs Paul Klug and Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Brodfueher in their Strycker P-19R truck. The Strycker was taken to the fire specifically because it is their only truck with a thermal-imaging camera.
WINGMAN, LEADER, WARRIOR.
"The fire came up alongside of us," Klug said. "There was a lot of smoke, thick grey smoke. We could only see maybe two to five feet outside the windshield."
The team engaged the thermal-imaging camera, which detects objects based on the amount of infrared radiation they emit. Trees, people, structures, terrain and the hottest part of a fire are some of the things one can distinguish when using the camera.
After arriving on the other side of a hill, the team saw a firefighter standing by himself lost in the dense grey smoke. He was part of a crew from Berthold; their fire truck had been in what they thought was a safe spot fighting the fire when the wind started to gust 30 to 40 knots at times and pushed the fire up around them fast. The crew was separated and became powerless against the fire. Eventually the truck became so overpowered by the fire, it overheated, rendering it disabled. The firefighter was left in a semi-safe area but unable to get to the truck.
The team from Minot AFB picked him up, loaded him safely into the cab and continued on with the mission. The singed firefighter looked for any sign of his distressed truck.
I WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AIRMAN BEHIND.
Next, the team located the hose and followed it to the truck. They found the truck engulfed in fire. With a quick glance at the camera, they pinpointed the main threat of the fire. They also saw that there was another firefighter still in the cab of the truck. Immediately, the team doused the overwhelmed truck with water.
"Honestly, I can say we were never scared or lost our bearing," Klug said. "We were confident in our equipment and our abilities."
I WILL NEVER FALTER.
Sergeant Brodfueher went to see if the firefighter was okay. The firefighter had a rag over his face and was fanning himself with his hat. The cab of his truck had gotten extremely hot, but the cab was safer than the fire-ridden exterior of the truck.
Overall, 5th CES officials said they are grateful for the Strycker P-19R's thermal capability.
"Without the use of the camera, we wouldn't have been able to do what we did out there; we couldn't have," replied Sergeant Brodfueher.
Klug echoed the sentiment.
"If we didn't find the two fire fighters as fast as we did and when we did, more devastating things could have happened to them and their truck," Klug said. "It's never good when a crew is put in that type of position and gets separated. Without that camera, we would have never found those firefighters."
AND I WILL NOT FAIL!
Living by the Airman's Creed doesn't apply just to the men and women that wear fatigues. Without Government workers, volunteers, friends and family, the mission would never succeed.