RELEASE NUMBER: 040820-01
DATE POSTED: AUGUST 20, 2004
A brotherhood of firefighters lives in Baghdad
By Sgt. 1st
Class Clarence Kugler
478th Civil
Affairs Battalion
BAGHDAD, Iraq (USASOC News Service, Aug. 20, 2004) — There are 25 fire stations
in the city of Baghdad, and the men working in these stations have been some
of the most heavily worked firefighters in the world, according to Maj. Alan
Leitschuh of the Army Reserve’s 478th Civil Affairs Battalion, Miami, Fla.
The need for firefighters has been so great in Baghdad that many of the new
hires have had no formal firefighter training, Leitschuh said. They have been
thrown into action with on-the-job training mixed in with actually responding
to emergencies.
Leitschuh, a firefighter with the Fort Myers (Fla.) Fire Department, Maj.
Mark Shankle of the 1st Cavalry Division Government Support Team and Capt.
Richard Daniels of the 478th, a hazardous material expert from Palm Beach
County, Fla., decided to put together a firefighter training program aimed
at current Baghdad firefighters who lacked formal firefighter training.
The program began in April and has included training in basic firefighting
skills such as fire behavior, fire control, ropes and knots, self-contained
breathing apparatus use, driver safety and first aid.
Leitschuh said, “It is important that the new hires learn a standard way
of doing procedures so that everyone can work together. We are stressing
fighting fires with the same techniques throughout the city of Baghdad.”
He added, “I expect to train about 500 Baghdad firefighters. Since
the training is in the infant stages, there must be ongoing training in the
fire stations, in the classroom and with hands on instruction to solidify
and reinforce training.”
Camp Mancini, home of the 478th in Baghdad’s International Zone, has been
the training center for the Baghdad firefighters. Last week, fire trucks
were brought to the camp and the firefighters worked on safe fire hose operating
procedures and standard operating procedures for lifting equipment to roofs.
“There is a brotherhood among firefighters that runs through our training,”
Leitschuh said. “We are all committed to saving lives and doing it
in a manner that is as safe as possible. The Kellogg, Brown & Root company
International Zone firefighters have volunteered to teach an emergency vehicle
operating course this month to the Baghdad firefighters.”
The training Leitschuh has scheduled is taught directly out of International
Fire Service Training Association training manuals. Although the manuals
are printed in English, interpreters translate the instructions into Arabic
for the Iraqi firefighters. KBR has loaned manuals, videos and other
materials to the 478th Civil Affairs Battalion to be used for the training
.“The Baghdad firefighters are as dedicated a group as I have
been around to saving lives,” Leitschuh said. “I am very proud to have the
opportunity to work with them. I know the knowledge that they receive in our
training will be put to use in the real world when they walk out of the classroom.”