4th FW hosts DOD rescue course

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Aubrey Robinson
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  Airmen from the 4th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Emergency Services Flight participated in a Department of Defense Rescue Technician Course here March 8-30, 2012.

The course has a four part objective based on the National Fire Protection Association standard. Students learn water operations and awareness, rope, confined space and trench rescue.

"You can show up on scene and they can say 'Hey, you've got somebody trapped in a confined space' or 'Hey, you've got someone stuck in the middle of a building.' We have to know how to get to them," said Airman 1st Class Nathan Hustlar, 633rd Civil Engineer Squadron fire fighter, Langley Air Force Base, Va.

The rope rescue portion of the class required Airmen to rappel to the ground, switch ropes, then ascend to the top of a building. Students also learned change-over rescues, where they ascend and descend a building, and eventually a victim on a balcony.

What we do here is a hybrid career development course package," said Joseph Gomos, DOD Fire Academy instructor at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, "We have to meet a national standard and be accredited. We actually teach training as a delegate of the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency, which provides certification to these guys based on the training we give them. We come here and do it on a condensed schedule for them, so after our training is done here on day 15, we submit their names to AFCESA as a recommendation to provide certification."

Although there were some rough spots during training, the Airmen had a good time.

"I was a little scared of heights but once I got hooked up to the rope, it went good," Hustlar said. "It was actually pretty fun."

The course trained Airmen to be able to apply several rescue techniques in real-world emergency responses.

"We put our own guys at risk to help save people. Without knowing this training, it's going to put ourselves in a lot more danger," said Staff Sgt. Robert Zehler, 28th Civil Engineer Squadron driver and operator, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.

The Airmen who completed this training earned DoD Rescue Technician level I certification.