Fire department helps battle off-base blaze

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jessica Lockoski
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  Even through 40-mile-per-hour winds, slick roads and a snow storm, McConnell firefighters rushed to the scene of a multi-agency, house fire, Dec. 9, in a local Sedgwick County community. 

McConnell Assistant Fire Chief, Randal Cunningham, and firefighter, Airman 1st Class Christopher Vullmahn, joined crews from Sedgwick County, the City of Wichita, Derby, and Rose Hill fire departments to put out the burning structure. 

"The roads were pretty bad, and it was getting darker by the hour," said Airman Vullmahn. "We even saw two accidents during our shuttle operation to the fire hydrant." 

The McConnell duo also provided a 5, 000 gallon tanker truck on scene to help rotate a resupply shuttle operation alongside other fire departments' tankers.
 
This shuttle operation gave an ample amount of water support to a portable water tank to feed other water lines used to blast out the fire. 

McConnell's tanker truck is one of the largest of its kind in the Wichita area. The size of the tank played a valuable role since the nearest fire hydrant in the sub-division town was four miles away. 

Transporting water back and forth, the team filled up the tank four times, providing more than 20,000 gallons of the estimated 96,000 of water used to extinguish the fire. 

Luckily, there were no injuries or fatalities reported and the cause of the fire is pending further investigation. There is an estimated cost of $325,000 in damages as a result of the fire. 

"Our firefighters are proud to have the opportunity to serve the local community in partnership with our local emergency response organizations," said Mr. Cunningham. "In my 18 years here, we have continued to enhance our training and responses with our mutual aid partners. We train at their locations, and they also come to our installation. We rehearse for air-shows/open houses, severe weather events and major accidents.

The base's fire department routinely comes to the aid of non-military related emergencies. So far in 2008, they have been called 25 times to respond in the local community.

These "calls to aid" are examples of how McConnell's first responders join off-base civilian authorities to help save lives and deter crisis situations. This union of rescuers is joined by a mutual aid agreement fostered throughout the local community. 

Air Force responders can be deployed off base under three general circumstances. They are through immediate response, official tasking by the Joint Staff, or by memorandum of agreement of understanding. 

These memorandums serve as a written understanding between McConnell base organizations and local authorities to commit to providing support to the local community when help is needed. 

Other McConnell off base responders include explosive ordnance disposal, security forces, bio-environmental flight, medical personnel and civil engineers. 

"We do have memorandums of agreement between multiple bases and military installations in Oklahoma and Nebraska, along with other organizations in the area, which state we will respond in the event of an explosive hazard," said Capt. George Haka, 22nd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Commander.

The McConnell EOD has responded to 10 off bases incidents in the local community in 2008 and has traveled up to 200 miles from the base to provide support. 

Regardless of how the work gets tasked to these Airmen, they are always in good spirits about helping and working hard - just as if they were handling a situation on base. 

"When we respond to mutual aid, we are familiar with the tactics and strategies and often with the other personnel, said Mr. Cunningham. "It remains one of those good things, larger than ourselves."