An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 27 to safety before heading straight back into the aircraft. Within minutes we heard 'Casualty!' again over the airwaves, and the fire fighters soon ap- peared with another casualty. Everything that was required was carried out very quickly, which is exactly what is required in such an emergency, and in no time the exercise was over. Although it had been quick and efficient it must have been far from easy operating in such conditions, with intense heat and thick smoke and loaded down with equipment, all while wearing breathing apparatus. After the students had made the scene safe, put away all the equipment, and rolled up the 40ft hoses, they lined up proudly in front of Rescue 9 with their instructors. The IFTC's Ricky Wilson, who has spent 35 weeks in Baldonnel over the last 17 years instructing and assessing Air Corps fire fighters, gave us his opinion on the exercise: "Their level of training is excellent but the real work starts next week when they go on station and start working on a crew. We are only giving them the building blocks so they can continue to develop on specialist courses and maybe progress on to a Crew Commanders course." Lt Col Barry Sills (OC No 5 Sp Wing and Base Commander) and Comdt Dominic Noone (OC 506 Sqn) attended the final exercise and afterwards Lt Col Sills spoke to the students. "Having watched the exercise we could see your confidence and how you worked as a team," he said. "You can see your camaraderie after the last number of weeks training together. I would like to thank you for the effort so far; stick with it and keep up your fitness and your mental fitness, as you can see you'll need it 'on crew'." Lt Col Sills also thanked Ricky Wilson for his continued instruction during the training and accreditation assessments. Successful students at the end of the course will receive an aviation fire fighters certificate that is recognised worldwide throughout the avia- tion industry. Another Initial Aviation Fire Fighters course will be conducted early in 2019, so anyone interested should keep an eye out for a notification in routine orders and on unit noticeboards. Vox Pops PTE IGGY MITCHEL, MCKEE BKS COY "The weather is really hot, 30°, so working in this heat is really tough. I was looking for a new challenge after spending 12 years in the Printing Press. In 2002 I was in the Engr Corps and was called up on the fire- fighters strike, I was on call in the fire station in the DFTC." PTE KEVIN FOLEY, ORD COY, DFTC "I started my career in Baldon- nel as I did the recruit training part of my armourer artifi- cer apprenticeship here. Fire fighting is another hands-on trade, but it's more physical, although working on weapons gave me a prior knowledge of mechan- ics, welding and hydraulics. The heat is hard going, but I'm enjoying it. I'm looking forward to the challenge and a shorter commute as I live locally." PTE GERRY HOEY, 27 INF BN "I've always had an interest in doing this course and I'm glad to be finally on it. This is a very physically demanding course, but it's definitely the best course I've done since joining the Defence Forces. I'm looking forward to starting the shift work and being on call." PTE SEAN MULHOLLAND, 27 INF BN "This is a massive difference to the infantry training I'm used to. I've a big interest in aviation and I've been training for a private pilot's licence for the last few years. A lot of the terminology is the same and I feel both qualifications complement each other. Like the others have said, it's a physically tough course, and I'm happy to be getting through it." Pictured in front of Rescue 9 are the students and instructors along with OC No 5 Sp Wing, Lt Col Barry Sills, OC 506 Sqn Comdt Dominic Noone, Capt Jane O'Neill, Flt Sgt Willie Norton, Sgt John Domnican and IFTC's Ricky Wilson.

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