Army Fire Fighting: A Historical Perspective

ARMY

FIRE FIGHTING

A Historical Perspective

Leroy Allen Ward

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© 2013 by Leroy Allen Ward. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Although the author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of information contained in this book, he assumes no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any inconsistency herein. Any slights of people, places, or organizations are unintentional.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/27/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4685-2370-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-2369-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-2368-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012922281

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Photography Credits

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I      Combat Firefighters

Chapter 1      Military Occupational Specialty

Chapter 2      Training

Chapter 3      The Combat Zone

Chapter 4      Equipment

Part II      History

Chapter 1      The Beginnings

Chapter 2      World War I

Chapter 3      World War II

Chapter 4      Korean War

Chapter 5      8075th Army Firefighting Company

Chapter 6      Vietnam

Chapter 7      Present Day

Part III      Appendices

Appendix 1      Medals Awarded to Firefighters

Appendix 2      Firefighter Line of Duty Deaths

Appendix 3      Units and Locations/Deployments

Appendix 4      Unit Rosters

Appendix 5      Unit Lineage and Honors

Appendix 6      Korean War Era

Biblography

Endnotes

To all Army soldiers/firefighters

PAST,

PRESENT, and

FUTURE

Fighting fire takes place in war as well as peace, at home and abroad, in civilian and military life.

—Raymond C. Sisk

There come times when we go out and do dangerous but noble things.

—General John Shalikashvili

Photography Credits

¹

Cover       Firefighter (photo Sergeant Charles Hale, courtesy of Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System website: www.dividshub.net), US Army Firefighter badge (photo courtesy Tracey Cantrell: badge courtesy Anthony Taylor), US Army Fire and Emergency Services logo (public domain).

Figure 1      Two firefighters put out a fire during room clearance training on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. The firefighter detachment, 95th Engineer, falls under the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade in southern Afghanistan. The team’s mission is to support downed aircraft recovery and support fire, crash, and rescue calls if incidents occur. October 4, 2009. (Photo Sergeant Aubree Rundle; courtesy of Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System website: www.dvidshub.net.)

Figure 2      Fire hazards posed by tents are of concern to officials. June 2, 2002, Kuwait (photo Rick Scavetta; courtesy of Stars and Stripes).

Figure 3      An electrical short most likely started this fire, which spread quickly and was impossible to contain. It occurred at the halfway point during the 29th Brigade Combat Team’s year-long deployment to Iraq (photo Major David Kahanu).

Figure 4      Army firefighters battle a fire in the dining facility at Camp Udairi, Kuwait (photo Steve Liewer; courtesy of Stars and Stripes).

Figure 5      Oil pipeline fire near Hadithah, Iraq, October 16, 2003.

(courtesy of Lance McCune collection).

Figure 6      323rd Engineer Fire Fighting Detachment fighting a fire inside an Iraqi power supply bunker caused by an unexploded cruise missile at Al Asad, Iraq (formerly called Forward Operating Base Webster), June 11, 2003 (courtesy of Lance McCune collection).

Figure 7      Specialist William Miranda, left, assists Specialist Pinael Roamel to don more than 85 pounds of gear, which must be worn by firefighters when responding to an emergency. Both soldiers are assigned to the 215th Engineering Detachment attached to the First Cavalry Division (photo Sergeant Benjamin Cossel; courtesy of Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System website: www.dvidshub.net).

Figure 8      US Army Sergeant Jamel Linzsey and Specialist Benjamin Majewski, members of the 907th Engineer Detachment, hook up a set of spreaders to a generator during preventive maintenance checks and services at Logistics Support Area Anaconda, Balad Air Base, Iraq (photo Private First Class Leah R. Burton; courtesy of Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System website: www.dvidshub.net).

Figure 9      Crash 43, Fort Knox Fire Department (courtesy Carl Langford collection).

Figure 10      Multipurpose firefighting truck, military adapted commercial item (MACI) 2500L (courtesy Charles Crego collection).

Figure 11      TFFT, April 13, 2006 (photo Lucille Anne Newman; courtesy Fort Bragg Paraglide).

Figure 12      M916 with 6000 gallon trailer (courtesy Charles Crego collection).

Figure 13      HEWATT (courtesy Charles Crego collection).

Figure 14      1918 American LaFrance Type 40 pumper.

Figure 15      1917 Ford-Howe & 1918 American LaFrance, Camp Lewis, WA.

Figure 16      WWI base hospital fire station, Camp Custer, MI.

Figure 17      1918 Ahrens-Fox and Dodge-Pirsch chemical wagon, Camp Sherman, OH.

Figure 18      1941 Class 500 fire truck at Camp Crowder, MO.

Figure 19      Fire Truck & Hose Company 319, Headquarters, Fire Station #2, Gievres, Loire et Cher, France, January 7, 1919.

Figure 20      Engineer Fire Fighting Detachments 1 through 10, February 1, 1943, New Orleans, LA (courtesy Jim Davis Collection).

Figure 21      Members of 1204th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, September 1945, Heidelberg, Germany (courtesy Jim Davis Collection).

Figure 22      2110th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon personnel, WW II (courtesy 100thbg.com).

Figure 23      2110th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon personnel, WW II (courtesy 100thbg.com).

Figure 24      Training at Camp Pontchartrain, LA, WW II.

Figure 25      1249th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, June 1946, Leghorn, Italy.

Figure 26      1096th Engineer Utilities Detachment, October 15, 1944, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.

Figure 27      Fire station and equipment from the 1224th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, October 1944, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.

Figure 28      2097th firefighters at work, WW II (courtesy 303rd Bomb Group Association)

Figure 29      1980th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, December 27, 1944, Pietramala, Italy.

Figure 30      Members and equipment of the 1991st Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon pictured in North Africa.

Figure 31      2017th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon standby at Honnington Field, England.

Figure 32      2095th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, WW II.

Figure 33      1202nd Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon using a Class 1000 pump trailer and Dodge weapons carrier with body-mounted fire pump, drafting water in October 1943, Naples, Italy.

Figure 34      Class 150 Kenworth-Cardox crash truck USA 508551 puts a knock on a fire for the 2024th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, Bassingbourne, England.

Figure 35      546th Engineer Fire Fighting Company respond with their rigs, December 1950, Pusan, South Korea.

Figure 36      546th Engineer Fire Fighting Company fire prevention parade, October 1953, Pusan, South Korea.

Figure 37      Seoul Military Post Fire Station 4, South Korea.

Figure 38      Inchon Fire Station 1, South Korea (photo Harry Zlotowski)

Figure 39      Inchon crash station, South Korea (photo Harry Zlotowski).

Figure 40      8075th Engineer Fire Fighting Company, South Korea.

Figure 41      PA&E fire station, 1970, Dong Ha, Vietnam.

Figure 42      Long Binh Rescue 1, 1962, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Figure 43      FD M-113 APC foam unit, 1962, Long Binh, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Figure 44      Army fire station, 1971, Vietnam.

Figure 45      530B at Quang Tri province, 1970, Vietnam.

Figure 46      114th Engineer Fire Fighting Detachment, 1971, Khe Sanh, Vietnam (courtesy of Bill Nink collection).

Figure 47      573rd Water Tanker at Long Binh ammo dump, 1971, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (courtesy of Bill Nink collection).

Figure 48      Long Binh fire department Hi-X foam unit, 1971, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (courtesy of Bill Nink collection).

Figure 49      Observer Controller/Trainer, 2001 (photo Haraz N. Ghanbari, Ohio Army National Guard; courtesy Ohio National Guard Public Affairs).

Figure 50      Members of the 1152nd and 1153rd Fire Fighting Detachments, based in Fort McClellan, AL, wash away mud that had been pumped out of the courthouse basement in Cameron, LA, May 2006 (photo Major Cynthia Bachus, 131st MPAD, Alabama National Guard).

Figure 51      Members of the Puerto Rico National Guard’s 215th Engineer Detachment work to contain the fires that engulfed 21 of the 40 fuel tanks at the Caribbean Petroleum Corporation (COPECO) facility, Puerto Rico, over a 72-hour period. The unit deployed to Iraq in 2004 and credited that experience as key to their quick response. October 2009 (photo by Major Edwin Cruz, Puerto Rico National Guard).

Figure 52      Fort Wainwright, AK, fire, November 1993 (photo Staff Sergeant David Abrams, US Army; courtesy Allen Ward Collection).

Figure 53      Staff Sergeant and 475th Engineer Detachment Fire Chief Richard Diephuis surveys the scene with a gate guard before deploying his team outside the perimeter of Logistics Support Area Anaconda, Balad Air Base, Iraq, July 16, 2004 (photo Master Sergeant Jack Gordon, US Army Reserve).

Figure 54      Firefighters from the 200th Engineer Detachment (Firefighting) of the Colorado Army National Guard and the 451st Firefighting Team of the South Dakota Army National Guard participate in aircraft rescue firefighting training on June 9, 2008, at Ellsworth Air Force Base, SD. Service members received instruction on how to extinguish an aircraft fuel fire (photo Private Alex Abraham; courtesy Army National Guard).

Figure 55      323rd Engineer Fire Fighting Detachment, 2003, Euphrates River, Iraq (courtesy Lance McCune collection).

Figure 56      Private First Class Mathew Blythe and Specialist Timothy Reynolds, both from the 1152nd Fire Fighting Detachment, 877th Engineer Battalion, 226th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, based out of Fort McClellan, AL, put a T-shore into place to stabilize a potentially unstable parking garage during Vibrant Response 13. T-shores are used to stabilize a potentially unstable structure before the soldiers commence search and rescue operations. VR13 is a major incident exercise conducted by US Northern Command and led by US Army North. August 9, 2012 (US Army photo by Staff Sergeant Corey Baltos, Army North PAO).

Figure 57      Silver Star (US Army photo, http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/decorations.aspx).

Figure 58      Soldier’s Medal (US Army photo, http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/decorations.aspx).

Figure 59      Bronze Star (US Army photo http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/decorations.aspx).

Figure 60      Purple Heart (US Army photo http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/decorations.aspx).

Acknowledgments

The author is deeply indebted to James Davis, former member of the 1204th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, author of Firefighters in Fatigues, and webmaster of www.firefighters.mil-fire.net; Ted Heinbuch, former army firefighter and webmaster of www.firetrucks-atwar.com; and Chief Michael Kuk, former army firefighter and author of many articles on military firefighting, for their selfless assistance and permission to use many of their photographs. Their significant assistance, advice, and encouragement have been invaluable to me in the research and writing of this book. Thanks also go to to all who shared their pictures and stories of their service to the army firefighting career field. I humbly thank you for your service to the United States as well as your selfless contributions in documenting the history of army firefighting.

To my children, who never hesitated in following me wherever the army sent me, and who supported me during my working shifts at the fire station and during my deployment in the Persian Gulf War.

And finally to my wonderful wife, Tammy. Thank you for encouraging me to pursue this venture and tolerating the endless hours of research. You love and support me unconditionally, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Leroy Allen Ward

Columbus, Ohio

July 2012

Foreword

by Chief Michael L. Kuk, PhD

Capturing fragmented history is always a difficult, if not impossible challenge for any historian. Given his rock-solid determination, sprinkled with true grit, Master Sergeant (Retired) L. Allen Ward has given his all in producing a unique perspective on the US Army combat firefighter in this book. He has lived this life and career, and continues to breathe new life into this subject whenever the most minute element is discovered. Several years—in fact, over a decade—of determined work, involving travel, phone calls, and extensive research, has produced this handsome edition involving the little-known story of what is probably the army’s least known military occupation specialty… firefighter. Even in the heat of battle, fire can determine the outcome. Ever since Roman times, allied and enemy forces have utilized the destructive power of uncontrolled fire. Hence, the military firefighter has been a part of every nation’s army. Chief Ward has locked into history buried material and treasure of immeasurable value in this book. Without question, this should be in every military firefighter and historian’s library!

Chief Michael L. Kuk, PhD

Fort Polk, Louisiana

Foreword

by James G. Davis

It has long been my observation that other than actual combat—be it land, sea, or air—there is no more dangerous work in the military than fighting fire. Because army firefighting units in my war, World War II, were few in number, small in size, and lacking the press and public information officers of large combat units, they went unheralded and then forgotten by army historians.

Master Sergeant Ward has done a magnificent job of chronicling the military firefighter from pre-Christian times to this day. His book should be required reading for every history office of each military branch. They must know, as should every serviceman bearing a military occupation specialty (MOS) number of 383, 525, 51M, 21M, or 12M, where and how they began. They need to know their roots.

I am privileged to call Master Sergeant Ward a friend and to have been able to make some small contribution to his wonderful book.

James G. Davis

Member and Historian, 1204th Army Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon

World War Two

Maui, Hawaii

Introduction

In 1996, while assigned as the training developer at the United States Army Engineer Center located at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, I was contacted by James (Jim) Davis, who requested information about the military occupational specialty (MOS) 51M and the equipment currently being used by army firefighters. It turned out that Jim, a World War II army firefighter, was conducting research for his book Firefighters in Fatigues, which chronicled the history of the 1204th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon to which he was assigned during World War II. Since that initial contact, Jim and I have stayed in touch by e-mail. After I received the last update addendum to his book, I begin thinking about gathering information that would document the entire army firefighter career field.

Historical support is required at all levels of wartime military operations to gather information and documentation for use in the official history of battles, campaigns, and other deployed operations of the army.

In accordance with army regulation (AR) 870-5, Military History: Responsibilities, Policies, and Procedures, the director of the Military History Institute is responsible for collecting and maintaining classified and unclassified historical documents and photographs Armywide; acquir[ing] military history related holdings; administ[ing] and oversee[ing] the Army’s central repository for non-record copies of historical materials. The AR goes on to explain that the related holdings include items such as manuscripts, reports, diaries, personal papers and correspondence, documents, photographs, audiovisual materials, and other non-record materials.

Stanley Sandler (2001) mentions in his article, U.S. Army Command Historians: What We Are and What We Do, that The army employs professional command historians for its major commands, usually at the Civil Service GS-12-15 level, and they are recruited like any academic . . . as well as through the regular civil service procedures that are used to hire everyone from pipefitters to systems analysts.

According to the Combat Historian School page on the US Army Reserve website, The Combat Historian’s mission is to create a historical collection for use by future writers of the Army’s history. These field historians gather historically significant data and materials from the battlefield concurrent with military operations.

Because engineer firefighting detachments are very small units, their activities are normally not high profile, and therefore are often overlooked by army historians. Unless current engineer firefighting units document their own histories, those histories may very well become lost. It is my hope that the publication of this book will inspire others to capture other aspects of Army Corps of Engineer fire protection.

Although this book does not purport to be a comprehensive history of army engineer fire protection, it does gather in one place an amazing amount of information and firsthand accounts, from Civil War to present-day army soldier/firefighters, which might otherwise have been forgotten or lost with the passage of time.

The information presented in this book is based on original army orders, after action reports, personnel rosters, mobilization orders, demobilization orders, unit briefing slides, photographs, and unit histories acquired from the National Archives and Records Administration, the Air Force Historical Research Agency located at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, online resources, and interviews with veterans. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy and completeness, omissions of specific units, individuals, and memorable incidents are unavoidable due to the lack of documentation or my inability to find it. Any omissions based on the lack of unit records in no way imply that the service of these units or their members has been deliberately excluded.

Since the end of the Cold War, army firefighters have served in conflicts in Southwest Asia; in operations Joint Endeavor, Joint Guardian, Desert Thunder, and Bright Star; in restoring democracy in Haiti; and in extensive support operations worldwide. All of this was being accomplished while the army was undergoing a massive drawdown. Throughout this tumultuous period, the engineer