Soldiering is a dangerous task that only a select few volunteer for; but being a Soldier and a firefighter, well, that’s walking the edge.

Ant it’s exactly what Soldiers of the Colorado Army National Guard’s 1157th Firefighters – which is comprised of two fire truck detachments, the 199th Engineer Firefighters and 200th Engineers – displayed June 8 and 9 at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., during their annual training.

Using a specialized training site at Peterson, the 1157th was put to task to learn and then perform many of the components of what a military firefighter does.

“We perform everything from crash-rescue to wildland firefighting, structural firefighting and technical rescue which is things like rope rescue, auto extrication, etc.” said Sgt. 1st Class John Schreiber, fire chief and noncommissioned officer in charge of the 1157th.

The 1157th will be deploying overseas soon, and this training is invaluable said Warrant Officer John Buchanan, commander of the 1157th.  

“Our main focus in this training is to practice extracting victims and putting out fire,” said Buchanan.

The 1157th was able to utilize a two-story, concrete structure and mock C-130 Hercules airplane with which to execute these skills.

“We’ll have real, controlled flame coming from burners and propane tanks,” said Buchanan. “The Soldiers will be putting out real fires in the training structures and dealing with all the variables that come with it such as heat and lack of visibility. Essentially, this is familiarizing them with the danger of doing this in a real environment.”

The Soldiers first enter the structures without fire, and work on their movements and communication. Then when the fire chiefs feel confident in their proficiency, it’s time to “light ‘em up,” said Buchanan.

“It’s crawl, walk and then run for us,” said Schreiber. “First we go through the motions. We ‘size-up’ the situation and the incident commander dictates the strategy. Then, the engine companies systematically execute the plan. We’re very much like any other combat unit. Commanders have the vision and squad leaders implement it.”

Each team consists of seven Soldiers. Each Soldier is reliant on the next for a successful firefighting mission.

“We have a motto. Me, you, them,” said Schreiber. “If you and I go down (talking about the firefighters), we’re just adding to the problem. We try to be very safe.”

The Soldiers’ main focus, aside from ensuring their own safety, is finding and extracting trapped occupants as soon as possible.

“We do a rapid, systematic search for victims,” said Schreiber. “Time is so valuable inside of a burning structure. Each second holds so much weight. Generally, if you’re going to find somebody, you’re going to do it within the first five minutes of arriving on that scene. Otherwise it becomes a situation where you may not be carrying a live victim out. It’s up to us to get in and get out ASAP.”

These Soldiers have to be dedicated to the mission. There are so many certifications required that much of their personal time is consumed as well, said Staff Sgt. Brent Servoss, station chief of the 199th.

“There is no profession with more volunteers than professionals than firefighting,” said Servoss, also a firefighter for the City of Aurora. “They have to go through multiple schools and certifications. Fire service in any realm runs off of certifications.”

One aspect that is required of both the Soldier and firefighter is the physical fitness demands, said Buchanan.

“We weapons qualify, physically train and conduct soldiering tasks as well,” said Schreiber. “However, our main emphasis is firefighting. Smoke-inhalation and burns are going to be our biggest enemy as opposed to enemy rounds, but we have to maintain that balance.”

“It’s very difficult to run a fire department on two days a month training, so we take full advantage of every opportunity possible to do live, hands-on training,” said Schreiber. “We’re also dependent on outside organizations such as Peterson air Force Base Fire Department, Fort Carson Fire Department, Air Force Academy Fire Department and the Colorado Springs Fire Department. We are lucky that we have all these people around us that can help us perform this training.”

“This training and training site are excellent,” said Servoss. “We have some new guys who are being acclimated to our way of doing things, but we have great leadership in place. I am very confident that we can put out any fire we were tasked.”