JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO- LACKLAND, Texas –
Joint Base San Antonio’s fire response community won big at
the Air Education and Training Command 2015 annual awards, which were announced
in February, with the 502nd Civil Engineering Squadron’s fire emergency services
flight and two individual firefighters taking home some top honors.
The fire emergency services flight won the Fire Department
of the Year in the large department category, while Darren Fehlinger, 502nd CES
firefighter, took home Civilian Firefighter of the year and Senior Master Sgt.
Timothy Walsh, 502nd CES deputy fire chief, was the Military Fire Officer of
the year.
The departmental award didn’t come as a surprise – seeing as
the squadron was the only one in the running for the “large” category – but the
502nd CES still had an exceptional year, said Mark Ledford, fire emergency
services flight chief.
The 502nd, comprised of 211 firefighters that support eight
wings, protected 86,000 personnel at more than 3,000 emergencies in 2015, all
with $0 in facility fire loss.
“That’s a pretty huge deal considering the amount of
property and resources we provide protection for at all the locations,” said
Ledford, who also praised JBSA’s corps of civil engineers for helping prevent
fires in the first place. “We’ve got such a fantastic fire prevention program
here with the civil engineers doing such a great job building facilities with
fire safety features.”
Ledford’s team came in above standard in training hours,
advanced courses taken and certifications earned. The 502nd was also involved
in several public education efforts, fundraisers, and innovation initiatives
centered on enhanced drone, security camera and robotic detection capabilities,
according to a department release.
“We’ve got such a unique, diverse workforce,” Ledford said.
“There are civilians, military, female firefighters here and while many outside
departments are specialized, we’re well-rounded. We all are CPR certified,
Hazmat trained, so it’s really neat that we can respond to a number of
situations from any of our locations.”
Ledford said Fehlinger and Walsh represent the strength of
this civilian-military partnership.
Walsh, who is deployed and was unavailable for comment as of
press time, has worked at JBSA-Lackland since 2014. He led the successful,
multi-department response to a large steel mill fire in 2015, while also
helping his squadron secure funding for several educational courses. Walsh was one
of about 25 individuals nominated for Military Fire Officer of the Year,
Ledford noted.
“He’s a great leader, a great role model, and a great
example for all our personnel, both military and civilian, to emulate,” Ledford
said of Walsh. “He does a great job of keeping both our civilian and military
workforces engaged and working together.”
Fehlinger, in his 12th year at JBSA-Randolph, has led a
number of successful responses to emergencies in 2015. He helped shut down a
natural gas hazard at a residential complex, mitigated a T-1 Jayhawk aircraft
fire while preserving both the crew and aircraft and helped save an
anaphylactic patient.
“Mr. Fehlinger is extremely positive,” Ledford noted. “He
volunteers a lot, and does a great job working with the military for their
qualification training – helping people prepare for careers down the road.”
Despite a successful 2015, Ledford said his department needs
to continue to improve in the face of “unique challenges” the future will
bring.
“We just want to continue with a very aggressive and
progressive fire prevention program,” Ledford said. “We also want to continue to
have our response times down to the lowest possible (time) for all those who
live and work at JBSA, and that’s about seven minutes. That’s pretty dadgum
outstanding – the guys do a great job on that.”