
DATE: Wednesday, July 9, 1997               TAG: 9707090401

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: ABOARD THE CARRIER EISENHOWER     LENGTH:   89 lines

NEW TRAINING DEVICE WILL HELP MILITARY FIGHT FIRES ABOARD SHIPS

Fires burned on the deck of this aircraft carrier Tuesday, not once but a half-dozen times, as shipboard firefighters climbed into the burning hulk of a mock aircraft in the first use of a training device for flattop crash and salvage crews.

Used throughout the country for the past several years at civilian and land-based military airports, the mobile device never had been hoisted aboard an aircraft carrier.

Called the Mobile Aircraft Firefighting Training Device, it is owned by TRIAD of Montana and may revolutionize the way sailors and Marines train to save lives aboard ships that launch and receive helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Previously, the teams were sent ashore to training areas that couldn't replicate the uniqueness of a shipboard aircraft fire.

``We're certainly happy to have it here,'' said Capt. Dick Gallagher, executive officer of the ``Ike.''

``It has tremendous training value. To my knowledge, this probably is one of the most realistic training aids we're able to utilize. This is a new one in our bag of tricks.''

The idea of someone setting fires on the deck of his ship didn't bother Gallagher. ``Besides, if it catches fire, where else would you want it to happen than with these aircraft firefighting teams who are right on the spot?'' he said.

Looking like a cross between the space shuttle and a multi-engine passenger plane, the MAFTD's thick steel plates can withstand temperatures of up to 1,100 degrees after being set ablaze by the propane-laden fire truck that tows it.

``It's more in line with the C-2 (Greyhound) we fly aboard,'' said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Tim Dodson, as he saw the device engulfed in flames.

Dodson is air boatswain from the Eisenhower, responsible for all crash, firefighting and salvage on the flight deck. He set up this week's training, using the Navy's annual Crash and Salvage Olympics for the test.

Firefighter crews from four area aircraft carriers - the Eisenhower, John C. Stennis, Theodore Roosevelt and George Washington - plus crews from the amphibious assault ships Saipan and Guam are competing this week to determine who has the best firefighting team. Results will be announced Friday.

``This is the best training in the world,'' said Dodson.

The mockup can simulate 11 different types of fires that are most common to aircraft. Navy firefighters rush inside to train hoses on first the cockpit, then the passenger and cargo centers and finally the engines and wheels as the device roars into flames.

The Navy firefighters will train again tonight aboard the Stennis, docked adjacent to the Eisenhower at the Norfolk Naval Station, as the mockup makes its way through Norfolk's carrier fleet.

Officials said that if anyone sees 30-foot flames at the Stennis' stern, not to worry. It's only an exercise.

``It's awesome,'' said Chief Warrant Officer Eric Brown, air boatswain from the carrier Theodore Roosevelt, as he watched his 12-member crew go to work on the fuel-fed fires.

``We've spent a lot of time simulating these things, but this is real live firefighting and it's on ship. That's our primary function.''

The Navy Air Systems Command spent $20,000 to rent the equipment and its operators for three full days of training, said Lt. Mark Persutti, the command's fleet liaison officer for firefighting. That's pretty cost effective, he said, considering the value the firefighters received.

``We're looking at the concept for carriers because there is a big urgency for live fire training,'' said Persutti. ``We want to buy one for Norfolk Naval Air Station first.''

The device could be moved to any area, including civilian sites for use by municipal fire departments, he said. The unit's cost ranges from $250,000 to $1 million, depending on its sophistication. Environmentally they are safer than the diesel fuel units the Navy once used.

For Petty Officer 3rd Class Russell Brown, a shipboard firefighter for 3 1/2 years, Tuesday marked the first time he's ever entered the burning hulk of such an airplane.

Drenched in sweat, steam rolling from the neck of his protective silver suit, Brown's adrenaline was still pumping as his six-member team finished its work.

``Hot, feels real hot. But wow, was it nice,'' he said. ``Tiring, but nice.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos

MOTOYA NAKAMURA photos/The Virginian-Pilot

Crew on the aircraft carrier Eisenhower help a firefighter put on

protective gear during training exercises Tuesday. A mock aircraft,

pictured on the left, was set ablaze to simulate fires on ships.

Tuesday's firefighting exercise on the Eisenhower was the first use

of the Mobile Aircraft Firefighting Training Device aboard an

aircraft carrier.