Brush fires, car fires, vehicle rollovers, medical emergencies, fire alarms and cliff rescues are just a few of the incidents, which firefighters serving Joint Task Force Guantanamo, respond to, at a moment's notice.
"We are here to protect buildings and structures; we deal with brush fires, inspections to ensure buildings are fire code compliant, and medical emergencies," said Station Four Fire Capt. Granville Ferguson, a 14-year department veteran. "Whatever emergencies take place on the JTF side, this firehouse responds. However, if there is a fire, all stations respond no matter where on the base it is located."
According to the mission statement of the fire and emergency services found on the U.S. Naval Station GTMO website, The GTMO Fire, Crash and Rescue Department has the primary responsibility of both life safety and property protection. The department diligently prepares and executes these services on behalf of all community personnel.
To confront the life and property threat that is present at all times, a relentless pursuit of prevention as the optimum solution to this threat is the foundation for all endeavors. The performance of these duties directly impacts the ability of this command to meet their primary mission.
Some of the firefighters were certified prior to their arrival at GTMO; others have been trained here upon being accepted to the department. Certified instructors are brought to GTMO to conduct a fire academy for new recruits, there are also online certification courses, which accommodates additional classifications needed through the Air Force.
"This month a new class of approximately 25 firefighter candidates will start the academy," said Orain Thompson, a firefighter with house four since 2013 and former police officer in Jamaica. "The instructors will be provided by the University of Maryland to conduct the academy here on GTMO."