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FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, April 6, 2006 — Forward operating bases have all the essential services needed to help the military get its job done: laundry, food service providers and civilian workers providing maintenance and other services.
“You just never know what to expect when you’re fighting fires over here. Every fire can be different. One fire we had was more like a fireworks show.”
Lt. Chris Linto, firefighter |
Some bases also have a fire station on hand to prevent a bad situation from getting out of control and to educate soldiers on fire safety. “Just because we live in a bad area, let’s not make it worse,” said Brad West, a firefighter with Wackenhut Services International Fire and Emergency Services, stationed here. “Remember: no candles, no incense, no smoking and no burning of any kind in your living areas.” Of the 12-man crew here, four members are prior military and previously worked in the United States on military crash crews. A group of Marines handled Forward Operating Base Kalsu’s fire emergencies before the fire department came here. “You just never know what to expect when you’re fighting fires over here,” said Lt. Chris Linto, a supervisor with the unit. “Every fire can be different. One fire we had was more like a fireworks show.” They have only had to deal with one small dumpster fire since arriving in January. West had to deal with two major fires at Abu Ghraib last year—one in the living areas and one in the prisoners’ kitchen. It is suspected that the cause of the living-quarters fire was a combination of candles and a possible electrical malfunction. The kitchen fire was attributed to diesel fuel leaking into a burner area where prisoners were making bread. Wackenhut employees have state-of-the-art equipment that would make smaller fire departments in the United States jealous. “Rural fire departments run on $400,000 or $500,00 budgets,” said West. “One of these trucks nowadays costs $500,000.” Fighting a fire the Kalsu way is challenging, since the water used to fight fires comes from the canals surrounding the forward operating base and limited reserves are available. “A lot of our training is site specific, base orientation,” said West, a native of Cheyenne, Wyo. “We could have 3,200 gallons of water on-site within five minutes.” In their downtime, the firefighters replace batteries for smoke detectors, teach soldiers how to use fire extinguishers, drill holes, prune trees and remove concertina wire. |
