The United States Air Force Fire Protection career specialty is the military's premiere specialty in fire protection. Much like their civilian counterparts, these military firefighters protect people, property, and the environment from fires and disasters. They provide firefighting, specialized rescue, HazMat responses, as well as provide fire prevention and response to weapons of mass destruction. Though every branch has its own fire protection career specialties they all must graduate from the Air Force's 13.5 week fire academy (or civilian equivalent) in San Angelo, Texas before being awarded their Firefighter certification.
History Prior to the National Security Act of 1947 and the subsequent splitting of the Air Corps from the US Army, fire protection in the Armed Forces finds its roots in the armies of the Civil War. Federal firefighting began when Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton issued an executive order to Mayor George Opdyke of New York in 1862 for fire protection assistance for the Federal Army. Mayor Opdyke selected Assistant Chief Engineer John Baulch of Eagle Engine Company No. 13, along with Mohawk Engine No. 16 and Peterson Engine No. 31 to provide service to the Federal Army, and they were shipped to Fortress Monroe. John Baulch was appointed Chief Engineer of the Fire Department of the Southern Division of the Federal Army. During World War I, the United States Army, under the Quartermaster Corps, provided two types of firefighting companies: Fire Truck and Hose Companies. Fire Marshalls of this era held the rank of 1st Lieutenant or Captain. Station Captains were typically manned by a Sergeant First Class. Just three days prior to the December 7, 1941 attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Army transferred the firefighting function from the Quartermaster Corps to the Corps of Engineers and were dubbed Engineer Firefighting Platoons (EFFPs). Engineer Aviation Firefighting Platoons (EAFFPs) were established to provide fire protection for the Army Air Forces. This was the beginning of the USAF Fire Protection field. The Air Force opened its first firefighting school at Lowry Air Force Base, which moved to Greenville AFB, MS, and, in 1964 to Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois. In 1992, the school was moved finally to Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, Texas and was named the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy, where it still trains firefighters from every branch of the Armed Forces. In the early days of the Air Force fire service, the Fire Chief was a civilian position only. The Air Force struggled to maintain adequate numbers of firefighters because the airmen knew they would never be able to become fire chief as a member of the Armed Services.
Organization The top firefighter position in the Air Force, "The Air Force Fire Chief," is the most senior fire chief position and runs the Department of the Air Force Fire & Emergency Services Branch (HAF/A4CXF) within the Readiness Division (HAF/A4CX), Director of Civil Engineers (HAF/A4C). The CXF is one of six Branches in the Readiness Division (CX) and establishes policy and guidance for Air and Space Force Fire & Services.
Outside of the basic positions listed above, there are additional titles that exist within the fire service:
Fire Inspector Crew Chief Logistics Officer District and Division Chief Battalion Chief Firefighter EMT/Paramedic Emergency Communications Center Operator Emergency Communications Center Manager
Traditions
Though the civilian fire service is steeped in tradition, the military fire service stymies the amount of distinguishing traditions that their fire companies may establish. Helmet colors depicting rank is a tradition in the fire service among both civilian and military.
White - Chief Red - Crew Chief/Captain Black/Yellow - Firefighter In some departments, the yellow helmet is used to indicate a probationary firefighter. In other departments, the ranks of "probie" through Captain wear the same color helmet and the rank is depicted by the color of the shield. Dog - The use of a dog (most notably, the Dalmatian) as a mascot is one of the most distinguishing traditions of fire services. In the military, the fire service is typically portrayed as a Bulldog or Dalmatian. At the fire academy, members of the 312th Training Squadron are referred to as "Fire Dawgs" and are personified by a Bulldog in a fire helmet. Family - Because firefighters often spend half of their lives with each other it is only natural that lasting relationships develop and a family atmosphere evolves. As a result, the Air Force fire department tends to view it as a close-knit group, separate from the "Regular Air Force."
Training
The Louis F. Garland Fire Academy. The 17th Training Wing has as its primary mission "To train world-class firefighters."
The fire academy's 68-day course length does not include weekends and is actually 13.5 weeks in length. School is broken up into six blocks of instruction, varying in length, that include: First Responder/EMS Fire Protection Fundamentals/Fire Behavior Structural Firefighting/Vehicle Extrication Structural Fire Ground Operations Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations Airport Firefighting Initially, the fire training was designed to weed out those who could not perform. However, in the last 10 years the 80% test requirement to pass was lowered to 70%, and the 8-minute timed 'Firefighter's PT' passing requirement was eliminated in order to lower the wash-out rate.
Special Operations
Fire Department Special Operations include any category of operation that exists outside the normal mission of firefighting. The "bread and butter" operations of a fire department typically include fire suppression, ventilation, ladder operations, fire ground searches, etc. These fall under the category 'standard operations.' Special Operations are "those emergency incidents to which the fire department responds that require specific and advanced training and specialized tools and equipment," and include specialized rescue operations such as High Angle, Trench, Confined Space, and Swift Water Rescue, Marine firefighting, Hazardous Material Response, Urban Search and Rescue (USAR), military units also have Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), and in some instances, Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF). These special operations required additional training and certification to perform. Often, these tasks are performed by heavy rescue or squad units.
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