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Joint Task Force-Bravo celebrates Fire Prevention Week

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Erika Yepsen
  • Joint Task Force Bravo Public Affairs
SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras --   Fire Prevention Week came to an end in style as Joint Task Force Bravo's Fire Department hosted its annual Fire Muster Challenge here Oct. 12. 

Eight teams of Airmen, Soldiers and Sailors competed in the annual relay race featuring common training tasks for firefighters. 

"The events are designed to give units a taste of what it's like to be a firefighter," said Tech. Sgt. Sean McCauley, Soto Cano's assistant chief of fire prevention and coordinator of the Fire Muster. "The challenges simulate tasks firefighters are expected to perform."
The events in the relay included dressing in protective equipment, carrying hoses up stairs, dragging hoses, hitting a tire across a table, pulling a mannequin and hitting a traffic cone with water from a fire hose. 

"Knocking the tire off the table simulates a forced entry into an aircraft in case of a fire," said Sergeant McCauley, noting the competition events were toned down for the participants' safety. 

"After participating in this, I really have a lot of respect for what the firefighters do," said Army Capt. Katie Morris, a pilot from the 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment here. 

"It gives you a better picture of what goes on [in the fire department] and a better understanding of another career field," said Captain Morris. 

Fire Prevention Week is observed on the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which burned the city from Oct. 8 through 10, said Sergeant McCauley. This year, in addition to the Fire Muster, the Soto Cano Fire Department also taught fire prevention classes on base, participated in a parade in nearby Comayagua and took Sparky the Fire Dog to a local orphanage to teach children about fire prevention.