MANSFIELD, Ohio—They’re often the first responders: The 179th Airlift Wing Fire and Emergency Services is constantly in a “ready posture” to provide relief in any emergency situation.
As Firefighter Stephen Swank put it, “We’re always in a ready posture if something were to happen, which could be a fuel spill, a crash, a fire…”
Fortunately for them, the 179th has a solid safety record. “Our safety record is just unbelievable,” said Swank.
But that doesn’t mean they don’t keep busy. In addition to constantly keeping an eye on their own aircraft, they also lend support to local agencies, like the Mansfield Fire Department.
“We have a mutual aid agreement with Mansfield,” Swank said. “We take care of the airport area and the industrial area—almost all the way down to the prison. We’re one of the first engines in.”
In some situations, they are called to respond to more distant areas. Swank noted, “I’ve sent a crash truck clear over by the Wooster-Ashland border for a tanker fire because there was an 8,000-gallon tanker on fire over there.”
“But our main purpose,” he emphasized, “is here. We are here, this department, because of the aircraft. If those aircraft go away, we go away.”
The department includes roughly 30 people, about 10 of whom are dual-status personnel, meaning they serve as both a civilian and a guardsman. The others serve strictly as state or federal employees.
Swank, who is a retired master sergeant, currently serves as an assistant chief of operations. He is in his 41st year in fire and emergency services. In addition to serving at the base, he also works part time at the Washington Township Fire Department.
He said working part time or volunteering at civilian fire departments is common for firefighters at the 179th fire department. “We have guys that are in the Akron Fire Department, Canton Fire Department, Columbus Fire Department…Cincinnati…”
In some situations, they receive assistance from local agencies. The minimum manning per shift is seven people, said Swank, “And so if we get a crash on one of the aircraft, we’re not going to handle the whole thing; we’re going to have to have support.”
He said while they do have people who are trained in emergency medical services, they do not transport patients, which is another scenario in which additional support from a nearby agency would be required.
In the case of a deployment, “We’d just melt right into the fire department at the base [where they’re stationed],” explained Firefighter Todd Christie. “That’s the beauty of being trained by the military—you just go in and fill in right where their guy left.”
Staff Sgt. Ben Riddle, who serves in the 179th Fire and Emergency Services, has deployed to Kuwait twice for about six months each.
“It’s definitely a lot more involved when you’re deployed,” he commented.
“When you go overseas, there’s much more of a chance of something going wrong with the aircraft because you have a lot more volume of aircraft coming in and out. And that’s our main duty—to focus on the aircraft,” he explained.
Swank noted that they have helped backfill other bases in certain situations. For instance, “During Desert Storm, they were sending a lot of the regular Air Force firefighters over. Well, they needed people to backfill their own base, so they’d send out messages saying, ‘Hey we need 15 firefighters at Charlotte…’”
Christie said he backfilled in Moody Air Force Base for three weeks.
Swank said they’ve also provided relief in other emergency situations, noting, “When [Hurricane] Katrina hit, we sent guys to Gulfport Mississippi to help them rebuild and give them relief.”
Editor’s Note: This is the eighth and final story in the “Embedded at the 179th” series. To the airmen and personnel at the base who shared their time with us, we’re proud to say, “Thank you for your service.”
