Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;KingofThings, post: 268706, member: 468&quot;]One of the most important things you learn, maybe THE most important, is that &#039;it&#039; isn&#039;t all about you but others and in that others depend on you for their very lives and you on them for yours.</p><p>This means those beyond your immediate situation as well.</p><p>My first test of that was US Navy fire school on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay.</p><p>In that building, which partially resembled the upper structures of a warship, there were 4,000 gallons of, I think, fuel oil with 1,000 gallons of gasoline on top of it. It was started with a spark plug.</p><p>When it lit off you could barely see the structure!</p><p>In there the fire was fought from two ends and each team had the potential of this inferno creeping around behind them!</p><p>We walked on steel decking above this a few feet as in an engine room.</p><p>It was very easy for uncontrolled flame to zip right past and cut off the other team which would then be surrounded by flames.</p><p>This training started on Monday morning. It was a massive conflagration!</p><p>We looked at each other like these crazy people wanted us to go in THERE!!!???</p><p>By Thursday they had to keep us out until they were ready!!!!</p><p>We learned in this teamwork that everyone was responsible for, and depended on for at the least, no injuries much less death.</p><p>There&#039;s more to all this such as patching and shoring up damage to a hull such as with the USS COLE (bombed in Yemen) and more recently the USS FITZGERALD collision off Japan. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/smilies/frown.png" class="mceSmilie" alt=":(" unselectable="on" /></p><p>This is also quite dangerous but must be done to save the ship and others.</p><p>When I was in I was an HT (Hull Technician) which, at the time, included DC (Damage Controlman).</p><p>Because of my training and on my ships, I was the &#039;On Scene Leader&#039; which meant I was in charge of any and all fire teams. (think Fire Chief)</p><p>Wherever there was such trouble is where I went, not away from it.</p><p>Pretty scary but had to be done and responded to in an instant.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in