Training world class firefighters Published Sept. 18, 2013 By Airman 1st Class Erica Rodriguez 17th Training Wing Public Affairs GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- In 1993, Air Education and Training Command selected Goodfellow Air Force Base as the home for basic and advanced fire protection training, beginning one of the 17th Training Wing's primary missions: "To train world-class firefighters." Since then, Goodfellow evolved and expanded its fire training for each military service branch and is now home to all firefighter training across the Defense Department. Goodfellow hosts some of the latest equipment and training while fully immersing students; for Airman 1st Class Britt Beshea, 312th Training Squadron student, there was more to fire training than he had imagined. "I thought we were going to go straight into training; give us some gear and throw a water hose into our hands and sent to fight a fire, but there's so much more to it," said Beshea. "I didn't know we were going to go through medical training and chemical training, all of that was unexpected for me." First time students coming to the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy undergo a rigorous 68 day training course which is divided into six different blocks, testing the students both mentally and physically. "Here at the fire school, we try to design everything to give students the most realistic experience possible, " said Tech. Sgt. Ruan Brits, 312th Training Squadron instructor supervisor. "Every fire and every situation is different, but each of our trainers are designed to give these students each of those unique situations." Block one, first responder training, covers topics from childbirth to CPR. Block two, fire protection fundamentals, teaches students about fire behavior, prevention and protection. Block three, structural firefighting principles, and block four, structural fire ground operations, teach students how to understand and fight fires in a building or other structures. Block five, hazardous materials training, covers environmental awareness and regulations. The final block, airport firefighting, focuses on specialized training for flight line operations. "Once you start progressing through the blocks you become more confident with what you're doing and you really start to love what you're learning," said Beshea. "You really start to feel like a real firefighter after a couple of blocks. When I'm in my gear I feel safe, I feel like a superhero. You're that guy people look to when there's danger thinking; the guy that can help me. I really want to live up to that image." For Beshea, the most difficult block of the fire training was block four. "You are in your bunker gear every single day, you're always in your mask, you're always in fire and there is very little class time," he said. "It's go, go, go and that's when you are really tested on how well you trust your gear and how well you can adapt staying in your gear for a long period of time." Beshea explained how learning to work with others was one of the most important elements of the training, making effective firefighting possible. "Teamwork is the number one key tool we have here," he said. "Do nothing alone and always have a buddy in case something was to happen to you. There is always teamwork here." According to Brits, instructors try to pass on key information and lessons learned to the students leaving Goodfellow to become operational firefighters. "The best knowledge I like to pass onto my students is that there is always a different way to do something and to accomplish something," said Britt. "You shouldn't be critical of people that do things a different way than you. I think that's one of the greatest things a student can learn; to do something a different way as long as you complete the objective, be unique." The fire school is continuously looking for ways to improve its training, to make sure that the students leave the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy as prepared as possible to fight fires at any time across the DoD.
