Firefighters Get Training in Baghdad

Firefighters Get Training in Baghdad

By Sgt. 1st Class Clarence Kugler, 478th Civil Affair Battalion

BAGHDAD, Iraq – There are 25 fire stations in Baghdad. They are scattered on both sides of the Tigris River.

The firefighters working in these stations are some of the most heavily worked firefighters in the world, according to Maj. Alan Leitschuh of the 478th Civil Affairs Battalion, a Miami, reserve unit supporting the 1st Cavalry Division for Operation Iraqi Freedom II.

The need for firefighters has been so great in Baghdad that many of the new employees have had no formal firefighter training. They have been thrown into action with on-the-job training mixed with responding to actual emergencies.

Leitschuh, a firefighter with the Fort Myers, Fla., Fire Department; along with Maj. Mark Shankle, of the 1st Cav. Div. Government Support Team; and Capt. Richard Daniels, a hazardous material expert from Palm Beach County, Fla., decided to put a firefighter training program together that would be aimed at the current Baghdad firefighters who lacked formal firefighter training.

The program began in April and has included training in basic firefighting skills such as fire behavior, fire control, ropes and knots, self-contained breathing apparatus use, drivers safety and first aid.

“It is important that the new employees learn a standard way of doing procedures so that everyone can work together,” Leitschuh said. “We are stressing fighting fires with the same techniques throughout the city of Baghdad.

“I expect to train about 500 Baghdad firefighters. Since the training is in the infant stages, there must be ongoing training in the fire stations, in the classroom and with hands on instruction to solidify and reinforce training,” he added.

Camp Mancini, the home of the 478th in the International Zone, has been the training center for the Baghdad firefighters. Last week fire trucks were brought to the camp and the firefighters worked on safe fire hose operating procedures and standard operating procedures for lifting equipment to rooftops.

“There is a brotherhood among firefighters that runs through our training,” Leitschuh said. “We are all committed to saving lives and doing it in a manner that is as safe as possible.”

The training Leitschuh has scheduled is taught directly out of the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) Training manuals. Although the manuals are in English, there are interpreters that translate the instruction into Arabic for the Iraqi firefighters. KBR has loaned manuals, videos and other materials to the 478th Civil Affairs Battalion for the training.

“There is a brotherhood of firefighters around the world. A firefighter would do anything to help another firefighter anywhere in the world,” said KBR Assistant Chief of Operations and Training Officer Tom Klug.

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