China Lake Fire Station 22 Tour
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Running head: CHINA LAKE FIRE STATION 22 TOUR
China Lake Fire Station 22 Tour
Lisa McClean
SCTY 350
Professor: Steven Buckner
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Fire Station 22 Tour
Response Planning
Mutual Aid Agreements
Extinguishing Agents
Equipment and Manning
Airport category and support
Firefighting Training
Conclusion
References
Fire Station 22 Tour
A tour was taken at the China Lake Airfield Fire Station 22 with Chief Joan Ball. According to the Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) website, “Fire and Emergency Services are provided by the China Lake Federal Fire Department (CLFD), which is governed by the Navy Region Southwest Federal Fire and Emergency Services (CNIC//Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake) (NAWS). As the tour progressed, information was gathered on the facilitys response planning, mutual aid agreements, extinguishing agents, equipment and manning, airport category and support, and firefighting training. Figure 1 is a picture of Fire Station 22 at the China Lake Airfield.
Figure 1. Fire Station 22 China Lake Airfield
Response Planning
Fire Station 22 designs their Aircraft Emergency Plan (AEP) using the NAVAIR 80-R-14 NATOPS US Navy Aircraft Firefighting and Rescue Manual and the OPNAVINST 11320.23F Shore Activities Fire Protection & Emergency Service Program. These two documents provide the Navy wide standardization for firefighting and emergency response procedures for Navy ship and shore commands. Chief Ball cannot discuss the specific details of their AEP or the two regulations they follow because of security reasons (Chief J. Ball, personal communication, September 21, 2011). After researching the Internet, information was found on both of these source documents described in the following two paragraphs.
The NAVAIR 80-R-14 NATOPS US Navy Aircraft Firefighting and Rescue Manual is a primary references for airfield operations and fire apparatus (Chief J. Ball, personal communication, September 21, 2011). This manual serves as a standard document for fire suppression and prevention activities for shipboard, shore based, and expeditionary airfields. The NATOPS covers a wide variety of topics including aircraft fire hazards, standard firefighting extinguishing agents and equipment, firefighting and rescue vehicles, airfield firefighting rescue organizational structure and operations, firefighting techniques, and response procedures particular to shipboard applications. Although the document is not intended to cover every possible contingency at every location, it gives standardized top level information that any naval activity can use to develop its own unique AEP (NAVAIR, 2003).
The OPNAVINST 11320.23F Shore Activities Fire Protection & Emergency Service Program is referenced for staffing and training requirements for Fire & Emergency departments (Chief J. Ball, personal communication, September 21, 2011). This document establishes Navy wide procedures and standards for designing a comprehensive fire and emergency services program. The focus of the instruction is not merely to provide effective fire suppression. Rather, this instruction aims to minimize the loss of life and property through a well-developed program of prevention, education, and engineering design that addresses the common causes of fire emergencies. It covers fire and emergency services operations and training, as well as fire prevention, fire protection engineering, and reporting and investigations. The Navy uses the National Fire Protection Associations National Fire Codes as their model to develop Navy unique fire prevention and protection programs (Department of the Navy, 2004).
Mutual Aid Agreements
According to the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting textbook, mutual aid support is defined as, “Airports should have written mutual aid agreements with surrounding fire and police departments and other emergency service organizations” (J. Fortney & C. Clausing, 2008). Fire Station 22 has mutual aid agreements with the following organizations:
Local Agencies:
Ridgecrest Community Fire department
Ridgecrest Regional Hospital
Ridgecrest Police Department
Sheriffs Department
Kern County
Structural
Wildland Component
San Bernardino
Structural
Wildland Component
Inyo County
Wildland Component
Bureau Of Land Management
Wildland Component
Sequoia National Forest
Wildland Component
Fire Station 22 has procedures, resource lists and defined roles specific to the area of need for emergency/rescue services. Once the specific situation is known, the fire department can identify the types of equipment needed, personnel required, vehicles required, and other necessary resources. The fire department also maintains written procedures that contain phone numbers for key personnel, and for all agencies they have a mutual aid agreement with. The procedure also contains required forms pertaining to an emergency situation which may be encountered (Chief J. Ball, personal communication, September 21, 2011).
When Fire Station 22 responds to an emergency, the first 24 hours are free. If support is required past 24 hours, a cost for their service will incur. Their mutual aid agreements are reviewed annually in order to keep required information current (Chief J. Ball, personal communication, September 21, 2011).