Andersen AFB firemen respond to base housing fire

  • Published
  • By Capt. Joel Stark
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --  The 36th Civil Engineer Squadron's fire emergency service responded to a house fire in base housing Wednesday which resulted in serious property damage.

No one was home at the time of the fire and no one was injured in the blaze. The fire was initially reported by a neighbor at 3:11 p.m.

"On behalf of Team Anderson, I'd like to express sympathy for the family in regards to their unfortunate loss," said Lt. Col. Peter Ridilla, 36 CES commander. "We are thankful no one was hurt and ask that everyone continue to help and support the family during this difficult time."

The fire is still under investigation and was what firefighters call a room-involved fire, said Tech. Sgt. Rudolph Mendiola, assistant chief of operations and incident commander.

The fire did not spread to the adjoining unit of the duplex likely due to the cinder block structure typical of Andersen homes, said Colonel Ridilla. However, it caused serious fire damage to several rooms and smoke damage to the whole house.

Emergency services arrived on the scene just about 90 seconds after receiving the call, according to Sergeant Mendiola, and extinguished the blaze within 10 minutes.
The operation took the efforts of approximately 11 firefighters, including backup personnel, said Sergeant Mendiola. The entire responding team consisted of two "pumpers," or what most people identify as a traditional fire engine, and one rescue vehicle.

Colonel Ridilla noted that some of Andersen's newest firefighters performed exceptionally well. Three of the responders were first-term Airmen.

One of those Airmen fighting his first fire was Airman 1st Class Johnnie Gilford, a native of Jacksonville, Fla. Airman Gilford graduated from technical school at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, in August. Although it was his first non-training fire, he remained focused.

"As we pulled up at the scene, I was thinking what I was going to do, how efficiently I could do it, and how we could put the fire out," Airman Gilford said.

Airman Gilford and his crew chief, firefighter Frank Barnes, were responsible for entering the house and locating the fire.

Though his training at tech school helped prepare him, it also had its limits, Airman Gilford observed.

"The smoke was overwhelming. It was so thick, I couldn't see two inches in front of my face. You try to stay as low to the ground as possible because the smoke rises, and the lower you are, the easier it is to see things," he said.

Airman Gilford attempted to light a path using his flashlight, as his training had taught him, while finding a wall to locate heat sources.

"That's the most important thing - finding the wall," he said.

Airman Gilford credited his tech school training at Goodfellow with providing him the ability to effectively perform the search pattern.

While firefighters Gilford and Barnes searched out the fire, a rescue team performed ventilation necessary to clear the smoke.

"We all did a good job and did what we were trained to do," Airman Gilford said.
"I do want to pass on my condolences to the family, though, for their loss."

When asked if he was concerned for his safety when searching out the blaze, Airman Gilford said he was just doing his job.

"You have to have confidence in your gear and your training. You just do your job and take care of what you've got to take care of. 'Am I going to get hurt' is the last thing going through your head," he said.

Although the cause of Wednesday's fire is still under investigation, the wing safety office encourages all Team Andersen members to observe the following fire safety precautions, particularly in light of the hazards of the holiday season:

- Avoid using indoor extension cords outdoors; outdoor cords have a grounding third wire

- Avoid "daisy-chaining" multiple cords and light strands

- Turn off all lights when you go to bed or leave the house

- As the cord gets longer, the current-carrying capacity of the cord gets lower; if in doubt, simply feel the cord after power has been applied for 20-30 minutes - if it's warm to the touch, decrease the load!