Firefighters have full capabilities at Laughlin's auxiliary field

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Charlie Miller
  • 47th Flying Training Squadron public affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Anytime planes are in the air, Laughlin Firefighters are on the ground at Spofford, Laughlin's auxiliary field outside of Brackettville, performing a variety of duties.

A crew of three firefighters arrives there 90 minutes before the first sortie launches at Laughlin to make sure the auxiliary field is safe and ready for aircraft by inspecting the runway, buildings and all their firefighting equipment.

"First, we check our vehicles and make sure they have proper water pressure. Then we make sure our other equipment is ready to go," said Staff Sgt. Cory Yaws, a firefighter with the 47th Installation Support Squadron for two and a half years.

A runway inspection follows to ensure the safety of the pilots. According to the sergeant one of the biggest issues the fire fighters and pilots face at Spofford are birds.

"Birds on the runway are a problem out there. We have to drive up and down the runway with our sirens on, blasting our horns, to scare them away. The animals never stick around too long. They see the lights from our truck coming and leave pretty quickly," said Sergeant Yaws.

The only piece of equipment they carry with them daily when they leave Laughlin to head to Spofford is their medical bag. The bags contain everything an emergency medical technician would have as a first responder, what would be needed for basic life support in case of an emergency. 

At the beginning of their two-week rotation to Spofford the firefighters take plenty of food and water with them to stock the shelves and refrigerator. According to the sergeant virtually all the facilities and equipment one would find at the main fire station can be found at Spofford. 

"There's a shower, washer and dryer, basketball hoop and a weight room with a treadmill. They make it pretty comfortable for us," said Sergeant Yaws.

The normal duty day for a Laughlin firefighter is 24 hours but it's different when pulling duty at Spofford. 

"We stay there until the last plane touches down at Laughlin, regardless of the time of day," said Sergeant Yaws. "It's 12 hours plus every day but we get the weekends off. Some of the guys really like that, having weekends free." 

Sergeant Yaws said that there is usually time to train while at the auxiliary field. 

"We have mandatory monthly training for our firefighter certifications and a lot of it can be accomplished while at Spofford," said Sergeant Yaws.