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Firefighters from Bruch-muehlbach-Miesau partnered with USAG Rheinland-Pfalz’s Fire Station 3 during a Mutual Aid Exercise at the Miesau Ammunition Depot, March 18.
Though USAG Rheinland-Pfalz has had a mutual aid agreement with the city of Miesau for three years, this was the first-ever mutual aid exercise of its kind. Here, the quote “teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success” was put to the test.
The intent of the exercise was twofold: to test both fire departments’ skills and to measure the mutual aid agreement itself.
A mutual aid agreement is an agreement between agencies, organizations and jurisdictions that provides a mechanism to efficiently obtain emergency assistance in the form of personnel, equipment, materials, and other associated services when the response to an incident is beyond its internal capabilities.
“As we conduct these mutual aid exercises, we are testing and evaluating our capabilities in support of the five National Preparedness mission areas: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery (P2MR2),” said Lt. Col. David Castillo, Director of Emergency Services for USAG Rheinland-Pfalz. “We also want to be sure we’re aligning and synchronizing the National Preparedness Core Capabilities with the Army’s Pillars of Protection,” he added.
As part of the exercise scenario, a passerby reported smoke coming from building 1206 with people still inside the facility.
It was then that the Rhine Ordnance Barracks’ Emergency Communication Center dispatched Fire Station 3 and initiated a mutual aid request to the Miesau volunteer fire department where first crews had already made an entry into the building for rescue and firefighting.
“Being able to come together and work in this capacity, utilizing all of our resources as a team is instrumental in preparing us for potential real-world situations,” said Gerald Adams, Fire Chief. This training and others like it helps us to keep Soldiers, Family Members and Civilians safe,” continued Adams.
Marcus Sauter, Deputy Mayor of Bruchmuehlbach-Miesau, echoed Adams’ sentiments about the importance of the mutual aid agreement.
“If there was an accident, on or off-post, the German and American communities would need to come together. With our volunteer firefighters and USAG Rheinland-Pfalz’s professional fire department, we have a complimentary partnership, which is very important.”
“During the training, we’ve learned that both American and German firetrucks are equipped the same way,” stated Wolfgang Mueller, Deputy Fire Chief, Bruchmuehlbach-Miesau. “As for the future, we’d like for some firefighters from the Miesau Ammunition Depot to come together with us [Germans] —whether it’s a fire or accident and work together,” added Mueller.
Lt. Col. Castillo praised the team for their hard work and efforts.
“This exercise exceeded all of our expectations! And, with it being our first joint exercise of this nature, all training objectives were achieved above standard. I’m extremely proud of the men and women of the USAG Rheinland-Pfalz Fire and Emergency Services organization and of the strong relationship with our German community counterparts.”
