MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- More than 40 cadets were involved in a one-of-a-kind training Aug. 14 at East Miramar, when the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Fire Department hosted students and instructors from the Glendale Arroyo Seco Fire Academy.
The flashover training the students were afforded would not have been possible if it weren't for the efforts of the department and Gunnery Sgt. Todd A. Jennings, career retention specialist, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
According to Jennings, a flashover occurs when the gasses above a fire ignite everything in a room.
Jennings's, a 37-year-old Quantico, Va., native is a volunteer at the academy and got the ball rolling to get the eager cadets to San Diego for the training.
"We had another location locked on for the training, but because of fire season we had to cancel," Jennings said. "I talked to Chief Jerry Sack at Station 61 and he approved the training. It took about one month, but we are here."
The group arrived during a dismal, overcast morning and the chief instructor of the academy, Fire Captain Robert Rebbe, credited the Marine Corps for making this training possible.
"We're very fortunate the Marines let us on this base to do this training," said Rebbe, an eight-year veteran academy instructor. "The safety aspect, the environment - none of this would have been taught without Miramar."
Among the cadets were two former Marines - one administrative Marine and one former infantry Marine.
Garrett Hine, a 23-year-old former infantryman, now a fire cadet, said he was involved in a firefighting program as a teenager and knew fighting fires would be his job in life.
"I joined the academy shortly after leaving the Marine Corps," said Hine, a Glendale, Calif., native. "Being in the academy made me realize this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. The training here is the best training we have had."
Another former Marine, Ash Haas, a Los Angeles native, said he became a firefighter because he missed the camaraderie of the Marine Corps.
"I got a great job straight out of the Marine Corps because of my training, but I missed the brotherhood," said Haas. "I learned teamwork in the Marine Corps, and this is all about teamwork."
Rebbe explained that cadets receive basic fire training in the academy, but special occasions like the flashover training they received at Miramar usually don't come until they are firefighters - sometimes not even then, if the individual fire department cannot afford it.
"The careers of these cadets is greatly improved because of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and the fire department," Rebbe added.