An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir May / June 2023 www.military.ie/magazine 10 | STRENGTHENING FIREFIGHTING CAPABILITIES, A TEST OF COURAGE AND SKILL BY LT DARREN FEHILLY PHOTOS PROVIDED BY LT FEHILLY & MARK POLLOCK F ire Fighting is a Force Protection capabilit y which the Corps of Engineers (COE) provides at home and overseas. In line with the requirement to maintain this capabilit y, a group of soldiers recently under went the Basic Fire Fighting course. It is a physically and mentally demanding course which teaches students the tactics and techniques of f iref ighting operations. The Corps of Engineers operate a full time f ire ser vice in the DF TC. They respond to a variet y of incidents within the environs of the Curragh Camp, from road traf f ic collisions and building f ires in the camp itself, to gorse f ires on the Curragh Plains. The crew also provide an essential f ire prevention function, checking Fire Detection and Alarm Systems (FDAS) throughout the camp. There is also a fully manned f ire crew deployed to UNIFIL tasked with providing a Fire Fighting capabilit y in UNP 2-45. The crew also provides a rapid response to the IRISHPOLBAT T platoon posts and the nearby French position UNP 6-41. The Fire crew have a full array of equipment and so can respond to incidents in the AO such as road traf f ic collisions or brush f ires. Located in Casement Aerodrome, 506 Sqn is the Air Corps f iref ighting unit. The Sqn have specialised equipment such as the Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 HRET (High Reach Extendable Turret) tender for aviation fuel f ires, along with advanced training facilities such as Aircraf t Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF ) in which to conduct aviation specif ic training. The Basic Fire Fighting course itself was conducted in the DF TC and Hacketstown Fire Training Centre, Co. Carlow. The course is composed of three modules; Basic Fire Fighting Skills, Breathing Apparatus (BA) Training & Road Traf f ic Collision (RTC) training respectively. The course begins with the fundamentals of f ire theor y. Heat, Oxygen, and Fuel; remove one and the f ire cannot be sustained . Water reduces heat energ y so the f ire can no longer burn. A f ire blanket smothers the f ire of its oxygen and also collapses the f ire triangle. Finally, the removal of fuel or allowing the f ire to burn until there is no more fuel lef t leads to its star vation. Students take these principals out onto the f ire ground as they commence practical drills. The Fire Course is like all other DF courses where you star t with the basics and you build from there, that famous saying of "crawl before you walk ". First you learn to run out the hoses and charge them with water, empt y them and roll them up and do it all over again. This process will be repeated until a high level of prof icienc y is reached and it becomes muscle memor y. Not long before things star t to look sharp, as complexit y is added to the orders. Make down to the f ire, breach and divide, two leng ths each, two branches, number 5 locate the hydrant and get water back to into the tender. A number of scenario-based exercises were carried out, rotating command each time af fording ever yone the oppor tunit y to be crew commander. Situations such as bonf ires, Students extracting a casualty from an overturned car A student prepares to use the hydraulic snips in order to free the casualty A student approaches a burning vehicle with the required breathing apparatus Students prepare the spinal board for casualty removal Students preparing to deal with a Fire situation in Hacketstown Fire Station

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