Command Post staff conducts live fire extinguisher training Published Oct. 10, 2016 By Staff Sgt. Dakota Bergl 434th ARW Public Affairs GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- If you aren’t a fire fighter your instinct is probably to run away from a fire, but for one office at Grissom that isn’t an option. In order to ensure Grissom’s continued effectiveness, the Airmen who work in the command post are trained to try to fight a fire, if one occurs, instead of evacuating. Each year they receive special hands-on fire extinguisher training so that they have practice using an extinguisher if they are faced with a fire. On October 2, the Grissom Fire Department set up a small fire trainer behind the command post building, and the command post staff tried their hand a putting out at fire. Senior Master Sgt. Jeff Withrow, 434th Air Refueling Wing command post superintendent, believes that the hands-on training was important to ensure his employees are more comfortable putting out a fire. “Due to the nature of our job we can’t leave the command post unmanned,” said Withrow. “If there is a fire and it is small enough for us to fight we have to be ready to do that. We’ve been doing this training for several years now, and it’s a great program to give our staff a chance to put out a fire in a safe environment.” Les McConnell, Grissom Fire Department assistant chief, said the odds of having to use the skills they covered in the training is slim but knowing what it’s like to put out a fire would help in an emergency. “The chance of there being a fire in one of the regular office buildings on base is remote, but it can still happen,” said McConnell. “This training lets them get experience using the extinguisher. They get to feel the heat of an actual fire which I think makes a big difference.” The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. Men and women from the Hoosier Wing routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission. Stay connected with the 434th ARW on Facebook and Twitter.
