910th Civil Engineers conduct annual fire training Published May 6, 2013 By Staff Sgt. Megan Tomkins 910 AW/PA YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- The 910th Civil Engineer Squadron performed annual fire training in order to maintain certifications within the fire fighting field May 3-5, 2013, here. During the four days, 910th CES firefighters performed live fire training at night with night vision goggles, performed vehicle extrication and repelled from the training tower on base. Tech. Sgt. Travis Newhart, 910th CES crew chief and assistant training manager, said all the training done during the four-day Unit Training Assembly gave the firefighters the opportunity to practice what may happen in real-world scenarios on base and while deployed. "The importance of repelling, for example, is if someone was up working on the water tower on base and passed out or had a heart attack," said Newhart. "We would need to not only be able to get up to that person, but package them and safely lower them to the ground where they could be transported." The firefighters also performed search and rescue operations where they simulated a burning building and had to safely recover victims. "This training is important because it gives us the hands on portion we need and allows instructors to teach things like fire behavior, thermal layering and the importance of staying low as you are going through a building," said Newhart. "It also helps us teach our people how to deal with an emergency situation if one arises while inside the building during firefighting operations." Senior Airman Chad Anderson, 910th CES firefighter, driver and operator, found it beneficial to have a four-day UTA. "The training this weekend helped our guys who don't work in fire-fighting careers on the outside," said Anderson. "During these weekends we work to stay just as well-trained and certified as our active duty counterparts." Senior Airman Steven Schmitt, 910th CES firefighter, driver and operator, agreed with Schmitt and added that this has been one of the best UTAs in the five years he has been at YARS. "Not everyone gets to do this in their civilian jobs," said Schmitt. "We need to always stay up-to-date on current operations. If you don't use it, you lose it." As an assistant training manager, Newhart said this weekend was beneficial for his unit and hopes they will be able to do similar training in the future. "I hope we can get out and away from the computers again soon and continue to get some much needed hands on training," said Newhart.