Incirlik fire department aids Adana with warehouse fire

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Kali L. Gradishar
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  The Incirlik Air Base Fire Department aided local firefighters Sept. 10 by providing additional firefighting resources to a large warehouse fire in Adana, Turkey.

In line with the mutual aid agreement between the base fire department and Adana, Incirlik assisted local firefighters in a time of need.

"We were notified by the dispatch center in Adana," said Deputy Chief Paul Salter, Incirlik Air Base Fire Department. "It was determined between myself and Chief (Mark) Klemcke that we could take one of our engines, Engine 12, a structural pumper. We started to prepare that here in the station while (Maj. John Sevier, 39th Civil Engineer Squadron commander) called (the 39th Air Base Wing commander) direct and told him what the situation was - that Adana was requesting any help that we might be able to provide.

"We let (the commander) know the status - that we were still able to cover the airfield, that we were still able to cover the mission here, and that we would be able to provide one pumper with four personnel," he said.

Meanwhile, Turkish helicopters made rounds from Lake Adana to the fire, offloading gallons of water on the warehouse roof.

Incirlik's firefighters arrived on scene in the engine and a command vehicle to find a large can-labeling warehouse ablaze. Six fire engines from Adana were at the scene.

"What you had was a warehouse about 200 meters long by 100 meters wide; and inside this warehouse ... there were conveyor belts and a ton of cans. There was a heavy fire load, so I'm thinking they were stacking pallets or boxes of canned goods."

"And cans of paint thinner, lubrication and some gasoline," added Omer Uludag, Incirlik AB Fire Department station chief.

They also found a large gas tank nearby - a danger to those in the area if the fire had spread.

"We didn't want the (liquefied petroleum gas tank) to get impinged. That would be like a rocket. There were already cans blown up because they were getting pressurized," recalled Salter.

With no hydrant system near the factory, Incirlik's firefighters connected to Adana's industrial water tankers shuttling water to the fire trucks. Another challenge was the equipment available in Adana versus the mass of the fire.

"Europeans use a completely different philosophy of firefighting because it's always concrete construction. They pump the water in at a very low volume and very high pressure so it atomizes and turns to steam and puts the fire out," explained Klemcke, "but when you have a fire of that size, that little bit of water isn't doing anything."

"Their lines were high pressure but little water. Ours were sufficient pressure and enough water," added Salter. "With our line, we were putting about 100 gallons a minute on it."

For more than three hours, Incirlik AB's firefighters aided the Adana fire department to battle the blaze. Alongside the deputy chief, station chief and four firefighters originally assigned to the fire was Rahmi Ince, also an Incirlik AB firefighter, who was off duty when the call for Incirlik's aid was made.

"He was off duty. He came on his bike and came on scene and wanted to help us," said Uludag. "I saw him and said, 'How did you get here?' He said, 'I came on bike.' So on the way back, we put his bike on top of the supply lines and we put him on the truck."

"We dropped him off so he wouldn't have to ride back because he was tired," Salter added. "We saw him on the way out the gate, but he was off duty and in civilian clothes. We drove right past him, so he hopped on his bike and came to help.

"That's the character and spirit of a firefighter. There's a fire or something going on like that and they want to go out there and be in it," he said.

Incirlik AB's department, a government-contracted organization, consists of five U.S. fire officers, four Turkish station chiefs and 85 Turkish firefighters. Their main mission is airfield crash response, fire rescue and structural fire fighting for the facilities on base; but they also maintain a mutual aid agreement with the city of Adana and Incirlik Village.

"The whole idea behind the mutual aid agreement is so that if we're overwhelmed on the installation with the amount of fire we have then we would call the city, and the same goes for the other side. When they need assistance, they call us and we go help them," Klemcke said.

"People see how the Americans are helping ... Some of the guys (on scene) were surprised. They said, 'The American military came and helped us?' They were very happy," added Uludag.

Not only does the mutual aid agreement allow for assistance in times of need, the agreement also offers each firefighting entity the awareness of how the other operates.

"We get to operate in their environment and try to understand how they perform firefighting operations and vice versa. They can learn the same thing from us," Salter noted. "And hopefully through both of us working together, we can have improved fire fighting operations.

"That's what it's all about - to try to do things better," he said.