Fuel cell exercise gauges skill of maintenance, first responder Airmen

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Amaani Lyle
  • 459th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs Office
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. --  Members of the 316th Civil Engineer Squadron and the 79th Medical Wing joined forces with the 459th Maintenance Squadron here to conduct a fuel cell extraction exercise June 4.

The annual exercise calls for aircrew members and first responders to coordinate efforts in an attempt to rescue a simulated victim from a narrow inner portion of an aircraft wing. A fuel cell can hold seven tons of fuel, and during air refueling, a large boom attached to an aircraft's belly can push some 6,500 pounds of fuel out to another aircraft.

Combustibles encased by limited space make maneuvering through a small maintenance service hole to rescue a victim risky. Firefighters must don more than 50 pounds of equipment to ensure they maintain oxygen flow during the rescue. Once a fire is contained enough for rescuers to obtain their victim, only minutes remain to move the person trapped inside to safety.

During the exercise, aircrew members had to initiate emergency response, and demonstrate their ability to check a victim's vital signs. In some cases, maintenance crew may be called into recovery action while rescue teams are en route.

Paul Tackish, 316th CES assistant fire chief for operations, confirmed exercise results indicated mission accomplishment.