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Airmen hone rescue skills

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Melanie Holochwost
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Five firefighters from across the Air Force joined five Luke Air Force Base Airmen for technical rescue training at the Glendale Regional Public Safety Training Center Jan. 10 through 31, which was hosted by Luke.

According to Steven Kinkade, 56th Civil Engineer Squadron assistant training chief, Luke is the best place to host any kind of fire training because its firefighters have access to one of the best emergency response training facilities in the world.

"Airmen from all over the country are here," he said. "There are two instructors from Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, who are training firefighters from Luke, Lackland AFB, Texas, Altus AFB, Okla., Randolph AFB, Texas, and Whiteman AFB, Mo."

Chief Kinkade said the three-week combination of hands-on and classroom training will teach Airmen how to rescue victims in confined spaces. They will also be able to perfect their knot and harness skills.

Once a firefighter goes through technical rescue training and receives certification, they can be part of a rescue crew.

"Today, we were evaluated on basket raises and lowers from high-angle situations and rappelling off high point," said Staff Sgt. Michael Alvarado, 56th CES firefighter. "In a real-world situation, we would use this skill to rescue a victim who is trapped in an area hard to get to, such as a mountain side, ravine or canyon."

Sergeant Alvarado said the assets at the Glendale Regional Public Safety Training Center are outstanding and Luke is very fortunate to have access to them. In fact, Staff Sgt. Christopher Gunn, 509th CES firefighter, from Whiteman said he has never seen a facility like it in his 11-year career.

"They have a lot of assets to train firefighters, or anyone else in a career that involves emergency response," Sergeant Gunn said. "I'm glad I was able to come here to get this training versus learning it solely in the classroom. For me, it's a whole lot easier to learn new skills by actually doing them."

According to Staff Sgt. David Hagenbuch, 312th Training Squadron rescue instructor from Goodfellow, the group is performing well.

"It takes a lot of teamwork and training to get some of these operations done," he said. "They are coming together, listening to their leader and becoming more well-rounded firefighters."