Firefighters free pilots from cockpits in worst case scenarios

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Gena Armstrong
  • Detachment 12, Air Force News Agency
Firefighters use exercises as a venue for training in specialized scenarios. Extended hours and varied shifts for the Misawa AB members recently provided firefighters the opportunity to conduct training sessions that require extra attention and set up.

One such scenario is pilot extraction. If a pilot is ever in danger and trapped in his cockpit, whether because they are physically obstructed or unconscious, rescuers need to be able to cut the pilots free and drag them out to safety.

Some dangers would include fire in the hardened aircraft shelter that could ignite munitions or fuel around the jet, said Tech. Sgt. Benny Baladez, a rescue crew chief.

An important factor to ensure the quality of the training is the realism of the scenario. Exercise evaluators prepared the hardened shelters with smoke machines, and with the lights off, it presented a challenge much like a real emergency.

"It gives us the sense of the smoke and the feelings that you get. The adrenaline rush ... it keeps you calm under pressure," Sergeant Baladez said.

While the primary goal was to get the pilot out and to safety, the whole rescue team responded. While one group went in to get the casualties out, another group worked to "put out the fire" and secured the hardened aircraft shelter. The firefighters rotated roles as they practiced the same scenario multiple times throughout the exercise.

"If I could save somebody's life, it gives me a sense to know that all the training I've done pays off. I know that I've helped somebody else," Sergeant Baladez said.