Scottsdale, Luke fire departments joined forces

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Devante Williams
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  The Scottsdale Fire Department joined Luke Air Force Base fire emergency services March 16 and 17 for annual training and safety protection.

“Luke AFB invited us to do our training here since we were due,” said Bill Gutman, Scottsdale Fire Department captain. “We don’t have a facility to train on aircraft fires so we’re grateful Luke let us use their set-up.”

Luke firefighters were also due for training, so they used the opportunity to work together.

“Scottsdale reached out to us and ultimately we found a way to combine both of our training into one,” said Steven Kinkade, 56th Civil Engineer Squadron assistant fire chief. “Not everybody has a full toolbox. Your toolbox should always have room for more. With this training, we can pick up on tactics that they have and vice versa. It better both organizations.”

The Luke fire training facility contains a mock aircraft crash. The objective for both parties was to control the means of egress and evacuate victims while stabilizing the fire. Both departments used their methods of training to achieve the objective.

“It was good to learn how Luke handles military aircraft fires,” Gutman said. “We use different terminology and ways to set up before executing. It’s always good to show what we know and learn from different agencies such as Luke.”

While both parties have a different approach to fires, they share a common theme: putting out fires as safely as possible.

“They’re from the east valley and we’re from the west,” Kinkade said. “We came together and worked seamlessly. I can’t wait to train with them in the future.”