Westover teams with local area firefighters

  • Published
  • By SrA. Kelly Galloway
  • 439th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. --  Westover and local area emergency workers train hand-in-hand on many areas of the base. Their mutual aid rapport underscores cooperative training amid a spirit of teamwork with use of the base's training facilities.

A recent example happened April 10, as the Chicopee Fire Department's newest recruits trained at the former Armed Forces Reserve Center building on Airman Drive hill.

The firefighters' training centered on leading and maneuvering through a smoke-filled structure. Instructors rendered all 20 trainees "blind" by covering their masks. The leader used a heat-sensing device to guide them. The entire team was tethered together.

Westover and the Massachusetts Fire Academyassisted the Chicopee Fire Department with the life-saving training.

"The recruits have used on-base facilities forvarious hands-on training to include entering a smoke-filled building," said Capt. David Beauregard, Chicopee FD training and safety officer. "The 'burn' house is excellent for training, and, since we are so close to the base, very convenient."