SILVERDALE, Wash. – Fire and other emergencies have no boundaries. Because of this, federal and local firefighters depend upon each other throughout the year for assistance both with equipment and personnel. These mutual aid agreements allow local governments and federal firefighters to come to each other’s assistance. The Navy currently maintains 43 partnership agreements with other fire departments in the greater Puget Sound area.
“We couldn’t do the work without the help of local firefighters,” explained Fire Chief Kurt Waeschle, Navy Region Northwest Fire & Emergency Services. “We need each other. It’s all about relationships. That’s how we work together.”
For the fiscal year running October 2016 – September 2017, Navy Region Northwest Fire & Emergency Services responded to a total of 616 calls for service outside of Navy installations, amounting to nearly 25 percent of their total call for service responses.
Naval Magazine (NAVMAG) Indian Island responded to an astounding 174 calls for service in their local community, amounting to 92 percent of their total responses.
NRNW F&ES currently employs 193 firefighters in the Puget Sound area, with a staff of 55 firefighters on duty daily. The Navy firefighters have three ladder trucks, seven fire engines, and one crash truck available per shift. NRNW F&ES currently has active partnerships with Seattle Fire, Kitsap County, City of Bremerton, Poulsbo Fire, Jefferson County, Island County, Snohomish County, and many more.
In order to work together, the firefighters must first train together, explained Waeschle. Since 9/11 all firefighters are required to adhere to the National Incident Management System (NIMS) doctrine. NIMS provides a common, nationwide approach to enable the emergency management community to work together to manage all threats and hazards.
Working with NIMS allows emergency responders to speak the same language. But just like a sports team, firefighters must train together before the “big game.” “We need to know each other’s capabilities before we roll up on a fire,” Waeschle said.
In order to build those relationships prior to arrival at an incident, the local fire chiefs meet monthly to discuss their ongoing operations and training needs. Waeschle has led tours of Naval facilities and assets in the past 12 months including the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and the Navy’s regional operation center at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor.
One of the local fire chiefs who toured the Nimitz and received shipboard firefighter familiarization was Chief Jeff Griffin of the Poulsbo Fire Department. “I had never been on an aircraft carrier before then,” Chief Griffin said. “My son-in-law was in the Navy, so when we work with Navy Region Northwest, we’re more than just friends, we’re family.”
Chief Griffin said that all the local fire agencies depend on each other for mutual aid. “We are all relatively small fire departments, so we have to rely on each other for help,” he said. “Any two alarm fire or above, we need the help. We couldn’t keep up with the work without Navy Region Northwest firefighters.”
Griffin praised the Navy for its hazardous materials response and capabilities. “The Navy has sponsored training at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor on their live fire training facility for all the local departments,” he said. “That fire training facility has saved the local departments money and maintained required certification levels.”
If not for the live fire training facility on Bangor, the local departments would have to travel to the Washington State Fire Training Academy in North Bend, about two hours away.
All firefighters are trained according to the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) Fighter One certification. “We all train to the same standard. We all have the same certification levels and we all follow NIMS,” Waeschle said. “When we train together we come to understand each other’s terminology. Then we can speak the same language.”
Along with working with local government firefighters, Navy firefighters have a working relationship with other DoD fire agencies like the Army and the Air Force. “We work with Joint Base Lewis-McChord fire departments whenever and wherever possible,” said Waeschle.
Depending on the fire’s location and the availability of resources, there are times when Navy firefighters are the first assets to arrive on-scene. “The Navy mission comes first,” Chief Waeschle stressed. “But there is no border to the closest resources. When the need is urgent and we have the nearest assets, the commander can authorize Navy resources to leave the installation in support of the local community.”
At that same time local government firefighters provide advanced life support and paramedics to Navy installations around the Puget Sound. “The outside agencies provide this unique service to the Navy,” Waeschle said.
“Even though we wear different patches, we have a demonstration of unity when we come together,” Waeschle stressed. “That one goal is mission accomplishment. This means saving people and resources whenever we can.”
For more information about this story, or the U.S. Navy Region Northwest, please call (360) 396-1630, or visit: http://www.homeportnorthwest.wordpress.com/
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Posted October 24, 2017
Homeport Northwest 