Building teamwork with Central American Firefighters
Herberth Gaekel, 612th Air Base Squadron fire inspector, verifies the correct wear of protective gear by one of 34 Central American participants during CENTAM SMOKE (Sharing Mutual Operational Knowledge and Experience), a biannual exercise hosted at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, April 19, 2016. During the week-long event, participants combine classroom lessons with scenarios in the field, using structural, automobile and aircraft fires, first response medical procedures, patient loading for medical evacuations, familiarization with personal protective gear, and using the “Jaws of Life” extraction tool. Some firefighters in attendance, and other from previous iterations, helped fight the recent fires near Tela, Honduras. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Capt. David Liapis/Released)