An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

News Search

PFD gets fired up

  • Published
  • By Nicole Campbell
  • Staff Writer
POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  According to urban legend, when a firefighter's picture is featured in the newspaper, that person must provide donuts for the entire station. When their name is mentioned, they must provide filet mignon to the reporter.

Whether the legend is true or not, during a quest to find out more about the Pope Fire Department, it was difficult to find anyone who would stand still long enough to have their photo taken or sit through an interview.

Fortunately they couldn't get too far, because when the firefighters are on shift, they cannot leave the immediate area. When a call comes in they have to be ready to suit up and head out.

What they do
The Pope Fire Department is a "mutual aid" agency that responds to emergencies on base, and when needed, provides assistance to the fire departments in Spring Lake, Fort Bragg, Fayetteville and Hoke County. The department also serves as a back-up for Cumberland County's 911 service.
The city of Spring Lake, with only five paid firefighters and such a large area to cover, benefits immensely from Pope's fire services. While it may seem like the perfect set-up for the city--fewer people on the Spring Lake payroll and DoD emergency response at the tax payers' expense--Pope benefits from the arrangement, as well.
Pope's fire chief, Alabama native and retired Chief Master Sgt. Tim Bosch, said that all Pope firefighters are able complete joint structural-fire training on condemned houses and trailers that were donated to the Spring Lake Fire Department by the city. He said that because of that, the firefighters receive more structural training here than at most other bases.

Also, PFD has many vehicles, but does not have a ladder truck; SLFD does have a ladder truck that reaches up to 85 feet. Mr. Bosch said a ladder truck would be needed if a fourth-floor dormitory catches fire.

While the firefighters typically conduct some type of training every day, one third of their time is spent responding to emergencies. PFD responded to 44 emergencies, eight of which were fires, in Spring Lake in the past six months. They responded to more than 1,400 emergencies combined last year.

Mr. Bosch said that fire protection is no longer centered around structural fires; the department is equipped to handle all sorts of disasters, including hazardous materials, terrorist attacks and medical emergencies. A crew is positioned on the flightline anytime there is aircraft "hot pit" refueling or a munitions upload, and responds quickly to aircraft fires. They also provide support to military landing zones up to 40 miles away.

Fast response times are crucial. After receiving a call and determining which crew is needed, it takes only minutes to dress and make it to the scene.

Specifically, Mr. Bosch said they can make it to a structural fire anywhere on base within five minutes. When they receive an announced aircraft emergency, which means they get word of the problem as the aircraft is in the air, they will be on the flightline in one minute. An unannounced aircraft emergency, which means the emergency occurs after the aircraft has landed, will have the team there in three minutes. When they respond to life-threatening medical emergencies, they will be on scene within four minutes.

How they do it
The 79 firefighters at Pope work shifts of one day on, one day off, with no regard to holidays or weekends. That generally averages to about 70 hours a week, and the active duty personnel do not receive over-time or hazardous-duty pay. There are 17 military and civilian personnel who work at other fire departments on their days off; some because they love it, some because it pays well.

Unlike Fort Bragg's fire department, active duty personnel outnumber the civilians at PFD. About 40 percent are civilian, and most of them were prior Air Force firefighters. A few are in the family business of fighting fires.

While the group cannot leave the immediate area, they are still able to maintain an extensive physical training program and must remain in great shape, beyond the measures of a PT test.

PT is conducted on every shift with the standard run and push-up/sit-up improvement, but they also do strength training using their tools and heavy equipment. Senior Airman Jedidiah Pearson, who manages the PT program, said they compete in a "fire-fighters' challenge" once a year. That challenge, which involves the skills they would use on a call, helps prepare them for real-life scenarios.

"We have to be prepared for the unknown," Airman Pearson said. "We have to have endurance because we never know if a call will last 15 minutes or 24 hours."

With so much of their shift spent training or responding, the firefighters do find a few hours to relax, sleep and eat. In addition to the administrative areas and vehicle bays in the building, there are private bunk rooms, a TV room with rows of recliners, a weight room, a recently remodeled kitchen and a dining area.

Donuts will be available in the dining area.