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| Students in the Damage Control "A" School of the Naval Technical Training Center, Treasure Island, fight a fire on a simulated flight deck during a training session. (US Navy Photo) |
So there I was …
GQ called away … Form up, lock down … Trainers milling about … “Missile hit in repair 5, JP-5 rupture(JP-5 is jet fuel!) Look through the “bullseye” in the door shows the “trainers” have covered the glass with a rag … “Guess we have smoke” …
Instructor on my side of the door says “Repair 5 is flooded with burning JP-5 … They’re gone … Watch’ya gonna do? “
I dig deep for my “voice” … “Get me A triple F (Aqueous film forming foam, for fighting class Bravo fires) (Liquid fuel) lined up to all nozzles!”
The trainer is writing notes … I flake out a hose and thread it into a sounding tube fitting in the bulkhead above the water tight door to Repair 5. “A triple F on this hose Right Now!” We’re simulating flooding AFFF into the aft salad bar, (repair 5)
“Now We’re going to flood our area with Foam” up to our waists at least. Trainer scribbling more notes.
We go through the motions of “spraying” AFFF into our space, all under the quizzical eye of the trainer
Request goes out to Damage Control Central(DCC) to breach a Water Tight Door (WTD) to attack the fire … granted.
The waist high AFFF was to extinguish any burning fuel flowing into our space. I made that known to the trainer. The foam we were pumping into the space through the sounding connection would knock down some of the flames.
Two hose teams line up, “Get a 4’ applicator on Greg!” (He’d be opening the door to the burning compartment) #2 nozzle pushed his hose with applicator forward to create a water barrier between the breach man and the flames.
Clank … door open, press forward into the space (exactly like the picture, same door). Advance … the training team finally notices us (un-expected again) “Fire & smoke” waving red and gray rags at us. “our trainer” still scribbling notes. “Fight” our way forward to the far corners of the space “covering “everything with foam. Fires out, secure from GQ …
Next day was the “Mass Conflagration event.”
General Quarters! Get to the locker and set condition zebra, start to gear up …
The trainers showed up in our locker area and passed out red and gray rags … “Ok, you guys are good, today you are Fire and smoke. The main missile hit will wipe you out. We’ll direct you” With that we got to burn down half the ship …
While “fun” I’d rather have been fighting the fire.
I had my name read over the 1MC (all stations) 3(?) times. My performance as an E-5 locker Chief was one of those times. Must have made an impression on someone.
1987, Naval Firefighting school, Treasure Island, San Francisco Bay.
So there I was …
We’d just watched “Fire on the Forrestal … learn or burn” “Trial by Fire” -
We went through the aircraft firefighting, burning vats of JP-5 under a “jet” mockup … Wheee! Spray some foam, move on.
Now on to the Berthing fire … fuel soaked pallets in a low roofed building, some how I was #1 nozzle, pushing into the flames, not really sure what was going on. Ok we knocked this down.
Now the briefing for the Boiler room fire.
Everyone on board ship is a firefighter …
The Marine Detachment Lt. was joining the ship, and going through the firefighting training like everyone else. Short little Fireplug of a Marine, everything about him “Hard Core”. Poster Boy. No doubt he could have taken out half the class before the other half knew what was going on. The Instructors gave him some deference. Offered him #1 nozzle for the boiler room fire. Told him he could pick his #1 hoseman, He turned and surveyed the crowd of squids, his eyes were at my nipple height … he looked up and saw my “High and Tight” nodded, pointed, and said “I want him” So there I was …
We gear up, charge our OBA’s, climb up then down into the Boiler room dragging live hoses. I’m gripping the hose just behind the #1 nozzle (Marine Lt.) My job was to make it easier for him to maneuver the nozzle, like a dance, I had to feel and anticipate his movements. Can't. See. A. Thing. Vats of JP-5 burning real fire and real smoke … they weren’t kidding … this was a deadly environment.
Lt. is sweeping the nozzle, I’m helping him swing.
Suddenly he stops and jerks back on the hose a couple times, and closes the bail, shutting off the water!. The hose jumps in my hands. He turns, wide eyes lock onto mine! … he pushes the nozzle into my hands. Exaggerated blink, slight nod, two slaps on my shoulder, and boom, he’s gone out the side safety tunnel.
Shit!, I’m it … I still have a hoseteam baking on the ladder above me. I have to advance and get them out of the furnace, or I start losing hosemen.
BRACE! Slam the bail back: hose blasts and jumps, hang on, that’s real fire! Spraying back and forth, step, step, sweep. The heat is REAL! Damn!
Trainer yelling in my ear, where to direct the water, I can’t see a thing. So much smoke, can’t see anything … Swing the nozzle in the “right?” direction? So much confusion, just focus on what is in front, even if you can’t see it. Honestly, I never saw the last of the fires. The instructors had to tell me to stop, the fire was out …
The post-training de-brief, The Marine Lt. had an OBA failure (He couldn’t breathe) Many possibilities for this, I’ve experienced it, you can panic. He didn’t. Breathing is good.
That’s why we train for this, he got to safety and passed the “fight” to the backup. Glad I never had to do it for real, you really don’t know what’s going on.
BZ DV!
ReplyDeleteI too went to Treasure Island for FF School , I could tell right off the bat from the pic . Remember the "spud" brass nozzles before the vari nozzles ? Note - those are some shined up boondockers , must've been "twidget" day at the school , the dungarees look new too, probably fire retardent versions that no one wore unless they had to , they were always stowed at the bottom of my rack . The barracks I stayed in at Treasure Island had a weird layout kinda round with a large open center . Thanks for the memories .
ReplyDelete"Trial by Fire" a favorite Navy Cinema treasure , another you may remember was "Mechanized Death" .
ReplyDeleteOr "The Man from LOX".
Delete--Tennessee Budd
DANG! Another great job of putting your gentle reader into the thick of the action, DV. I can't imagine having to fight any large fire, much less in the confined areas of a ship.
ReplyDeleteWell written DV - To J_L's point above, you very much put your reader right in the middle of the event.
ReplyDeleteYet another reason to avoid enclosed spaces...
windows explorer hates me. (right back atch'ya explorer)
ReplyDeleteLost a long reply.
Ramble about reading history, Choir and theater influences, and nightmares of being trapped in a burning flooding compartment.
Will also add (if you watch the film) I believe John McCain (yes that one) was seated in or next to the plane hit by the Zuni rocket.
McCain was there, yes he was.
DeleteNicely done, DV.
ReplyDeleteNavy firefighting is something ALL sailors must learn, and be ready to do if they are assigned to a ship. DV's experiences are a superb summary of what it is like in training. I've never had to fight a "real" shipboard fire, thankfully, but every time I went through FF training, it was intense and people took it very seriously. That was just the schoolhouse live firefighting. Aboard ship the duty section would have a DAILY drill for the duty section- fire, flooding, security alert, or rescue and assistance detail. The latter three sometimes lacked enthusiasm, but firefighting was deadly serious.
ReplyDelete"Trial by Fire" is something non-sailors should see to understand better the awesome challenges, especially aboard a carrier, where the usual shipboard hazards are magnified by aircraft, fuel all over, bomb farms, ordnance on aircraft, etc. Even though it was 50+ years ago the lessons of that fire are as important and applicable today as then.
Shipyard fires are even more scary with watertight doors obstructed open by cables and hoses, fire mains disconnected, etc. The shameful loss of USS Bon Homme Richard to its shipboard fire was far worse than it should have been, due to lousy leadership and poor training. Plenty of blame to go around, but lots of sailors (and some land based fire fighters) bravely and vigorously did their best and kept it from being even more catastrophic.
Hats off to all those sailors out in the fleet today, ready to fight fires 24/7/365.
John Blackshoe
By all accounts , the Bon Homme Richard fire was started by BUDS school person who rang out or was failed out and was sent to Deck (undesignated) to finish up the terms of his naval contract , disgruntled , he set the fire . Gone are the days of "source rates" the list of rates eligible to go for SEAL/BUDS school , wherein after making E4 , in a source rate ( BM, GM, CTI, HT,..... and many others) a sailor would , at his PRD, usually, drop a chit to attempt BUDS . There was no enlisting as a SEAL , you were enlisted , served/ schooled and rated in a necessary/needed rate then gave it your best . Thereby if you rang out/failed out , you weren't sent undesignated to the fleet . You simply were detailed back to a billet in your rating specialty , with nothing but an attaboy for trying (BZ) . Taking qualified ASVAB/PHYSICALLY passed young men directly into SEALS at the recruiters office is a mistake , taking out of the ranks , rated, experienced, indoctrinated , and tried sailors , with good evals , affirmed and signed off with a request chit is the way to go, and the best route for the Nav. Learn the Navy...be great at your rate....drop a chit to go for BUDS ...and hammer down and godspeed . Heck , I graduated from DLI cum laude in spanish, got bumped for the clearance , and loved making a career out of being a Deck Ape , outdoors, fresh air , VBSS boarding parties ...LSE....UNREPS..., it ain't for everyone , but it isn't the end of the world . Get rated , drop a chit, and go for SEALS . The old days you'd see the rating badge under the crow , with a seal pin above your ribbons.
DeleteThe Forrestal was my second ship. By the time I got to it, I felt I already knew it, because "Trial by Fire" is shown every single time there's a safety standdown, or was in the '80s.
ReplyDelete--Tennessee Budd
Sarge, just sent another sea story about steam plant ops.
ReplyDeleteI am awaiting eagerly.
ReplyDeleteCrusty Old TV Tech here. Another excellent "there I wuz...". Every soldier a rifleman, every sailor a fireman. Oriskany, Forrestal, Big E, three in a row back in the 60's. Big E, Zuni's again, though without the ancient 1000 pounders leaking juice and rust, cooking off. Tragedies, but at least Navy men learned lessons, and incorporated them into training. I used to groan when it was time for firex training in my USAF blue suit days...but one look at that Forrestal film, yeah, it was time well spent.
ReplyDeleteAnd there is the unexpected. Back in the late 70's (as a UND grad student), The GFAFB made an urgent request for assistance to the GF Airport, City, and local volunteer fire departments. They had a Broken Arrow - a B52 parked on the ground with nuclear weapons aboard experiencing an uncontrollable inboard engine fire. My fellow students and I carefully checked the wind direction (no worry about a nuclear explosion, but detonation of the conventional explosive triggering charges probably would rupture the casing and spread fine plutonium oxide dust downwind).
DeleteUs as nukes, with the tool's and skills were always on hand for "those weapons" transfers. Always surprised by how many "inert" cases they moved about... "you could tell a Live"one" by what we picked up on our "instruments". We practiced "Broken Arrow".
ReplyDeleteI'm fortunate that we never had any fire on any of my Carriers save one- while in port, the Vinson had a fire inside a hangar bay door- the ones to the elevator, not the different bays. Turns out that during a million watches, or some sailors just hanging out there after hours smoking, would toss their used cigarette into an opening in the side of the door. After years of them piling up without anyone realizing, (6 feet of them) someone tossed in a lit butt which ignited the rest. Lots of smoke and a little bit of smoldering fire, but it was an easy firefighting effort for the weekend fire party.
ReplyDelete