Hot topic: SMU Marines receive fire safety training 

Marines with Marine Air-Ground Task Force Support Battalion 11.2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), participated in fire safety training at the Supply Management Unit lot aboard Camp Leatherneck, Feb. 1.

The course was led by fire brigade instructors who also work as firemen aboard the base. It covered the importance of safety in a deployed environment, but especially the significance of fire safety due to its preventability.

“We want to reinforce hazard recognition and elimination,” said Damian Gonzales, one of the civilian instructors at the course.

According to Gunnery Sgt. Tyrone Sidney, the company uniformed tactical safety specialist at the SMU, the training not only reduces safety mishaps, but it gives the Marines hands-on training with fire extinguishing equipment. He said training such as this is important in order to “preserve life and property of the Marine Corps in order for the SMU to continue to support the Marines of Regional Command Southwest.”

Specifically, the hands-on training covered the use of the compressed air foam system. The CAFS has the capability to turn 30 gallons of extinguishing solution into 300, with the application of 2,200 pounds per square inch of pressure.

“The CAFS is worth its weight in gold … you can do a whole lot of extinguishing with it,” stated Gonzales.

Each of the Marines in the course had a chance to try out the extinguishing system on a live fire. With their practice and diligent safety inspections, Gonzales said the SMU maintains a “state of readiness at all times.”