U.S. Airmen Teach Iraqi Volunteers to Battle Blazes

Fight Fires
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel.

By SSGT Stacy Fowler 506th Air Expeditionary Group

KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) — Iraqi Air Force maintenance people are putting down their wrenches and picking up fire hoses. They are under the experienced eyes of Kirkuk Air Base's 506th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron firefighters here.

For firefighters of the Iraqi Air Force, walking into an inferno on an already warm day is an experience still rather new.

"The majority of the Iraqi firefighters have never been to a formal fire academy and have never been part of a fire department," said Staff Sgt. Carlos Bosch, a 506th ECES firefighter. "We are here to ease their transition and help them enhance their job knowledge and professional skills."

The Iraqi firefighters' training began in April with basic principles of fire and fire behavior training, along with rudimentary fire attack procedures to fight the flames, Sergeant Bosch said.
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Photo by Senior Airman Angelita Collins