AMOC students use teamwork to battle fiery experience

  • Published
  • By Robert Fox
  • 82nd Training WIng Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Four students and a communications officer had a fiery bonding experience about one month ago when they battled a brush fire in Meers, Okla. 

Capt. Derrick Miller, from the 82nd Communications Squadron, and Aircraft Maintenance Officer Course students Capt. Ishmael Djagmah, from Ghana, Capt. Udaya Desilve, from Sri Lanka, 1st Lt. Erick Withrow, 2nd Lt. Linsey Delisle and 2nd Lt. Larry Sepassi, were at the Meers Store and Restaurant after rock climbing on June 4 in the Wichita Mountains. 

Lieutenant Withrow said they were waiting to be seated, watching the lights flicker when someone yelled about a fire. He said they thought it was a kitchen fire at first. After a few minutes, it was clear the fire was not in the building, but behind it. 

The lieutenant said by the time they saw the fire, it covered half an acre and was growing. Captain Miller said the fire was up a hill about 30 yards from the restaurant.
The captain said he didn't think they could hope to contain it because the fire had a large tree in the middle of it. 

"We got lucky in that there was a 180 degree perimeter already there," he said.
 
What started the fire isn't clear, but Captain Miller said sparks from one of two transformers on a power pole might have ignited the dry brush. 

Two of the five had experience fighting fires - Captain Miller while he grew up on a farm in Oklahoma and as a boy scout; Lieutenant Withrow said he had fought forest fires earlier in life. 

This was the first time Lieutenant Delisle and Captain Djagmah had ever fought a fire of any sort. 

"It was frightening at first, but it was a unique experience," Lieutenant Delisle said. "I'm happy we could help the community and the store." 

Captain Desilve said he has fire experience, but this was the first time he had seen a brush fire. 

"I am a maintenance engineer in the fire department of my (Sri Lankan) air force." Captain Desilve said. "When this came up I thought I could help. It was very good experience for my current job." 

Wearing T-shirts and shorts and armed with two garden hoses, a few 5-gallon buckets and three shovels, the entire group started creating a barrier called a fire line between the fire and what was not yet burning. 

Captain Miller and Lieutenant Withrow worked to clear brush and coordinate the group's efforts to contain the fire while Lieutenants Delisle and Sepassi filled and carried water buckets. Captain Djagmah helped move vehicles away from the restaurant then manned the second hose.

Captain Desilve worked the fire line with Lieutenant Withrow until the volunteer fire fighters showed up. When the fire trucks showed up, he grabbed a hose from the truck and began battling the flames. 

Fire wasn't the only element the five-person crew had to fight. Lieutenant Withrow said a whipping wind caused smaller fires to start on their side of the fire line. He said that's part of the difficulty in fighting wild fires: concentrating on what you are doing and keeping an eye out for small fires that jumped the fire line. 

"Fighting a forest fire is not easy at all. (I) had to watch even areas we had already been," Captain Djagmah said. 

Lieutenant Withrow said they worked to contain the fire for about 45 minutes before the volunteer fire department arrived. 

"(The volunteer fire department) didn't have quite the response structure I had anticipated," Captain Miller said. 

Once the volunteer fire department's trucks were able to get through the brush and to the fire, they focused on the bigger issue of extinguishing the big trees in the middle of the fire. 

Lieutenant Withrow said no one had enough time check their watch, but he thinks they worked the fire for about four hours. 

"I really don't remember the time," Lieutenant Sepassi said. "It just flew by because we were so focused on putting out the fire." 

There were no major injuries, but everyone had their fair share of scrapes and bruises.
"It was good to see everyone out there," Lieutenant Withrow said. "They didn't even ask 'why should I do this?' They just responded."