Travis helps battle blazes off base

  • Published
  • By Nick DeCicco
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  When one of the biggest fires in an off-base city's recent history raged, Travis firefighters helped.

Fourteen firefighters from Travis were involved Aug. 27 in a seven-alarm fire in Fairfield, more than five miles from the base's front gate.

The 40-acre blaze decimated five homes and left at least 10 more damaged or uninhabitable. It raged for four hours between the 2700 and 3000 blocks of Marigold Drive. It drew nearly 200 total firefighters from agencies in and outside Solano County.

It's the kind of assistance the Travis Fire Department provides to neighboring Solano County cities on a regular basis.

This year alone, Travis has aided in dousing blazes at a four-alarm fire June 18 at Motel 6 on Central Place in Cordelia and a five-alarm inferno that gutted Pepperbelly's comedy club Jan. 25.

"Our firefighters have worked together throughout the past years to protect citizens and Airmen together alike," said Col. Dan Guinan, 60th Civil Engineer Squadron commander.

For the Marigold Drive fire, Travis firefighters took on multiple roles, including trying to save homes on Marigold Drive and extinguishing vehicle fires as well as fighting brush behind an AT&T building that backs up to Marigold.

The fire started around 3:40 p.m. Afternoon winds pushed it rapidly through dried brush. Trucks and crews also came from Benicia, Davis, Suisun City, Vacaville, Vallejo, West Sacramento and Woodland as well as a host of rural fire districts and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Smoke from the fire closed the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 for a few hours.
Fairfield Battalion Chief Bob Stoffel estimated the damages will cost millions of dollars.

Glen Munn, Travis Fire Department's special operations chief, said Travis firefighters did not use foam or retardants, but instead, pumped water from hydrants on Marigold to their trucks, a task which presented its own challenge.

"We had to shuttle water quite a bit because of all the engines tied in on Marigold," Munn said. "The hydrants were taken up, so our guys used their tank and then would find a hydrant to resupply."

Munn said the blaze was reminiscent of a 2008 fire that raged on the northwest side of Travis, burning unoccupied homes.

"It compared to that fire," he said. "(This had) quite a lot of the same chaos."

Munn said the responding agency depends on a matrix which is based on proximity. For the 2011 Macro Plastics fire, which was approximately two miles from base, Travis was among the first to respond due to its close proximity.

"I think we've got a pretty good relationship with our county partners," Munn said.
The plastics fire is a good example of one of Travis' specialized response capabilities.

When it comes to fires involving hazardous materials, Travis is trained and prepared to handle them due to the variety of blazes they might encounter on base, from structure fires to airplane blazes.

"If there's some sort of hazmat situation, they know they're going to get some sort of Travis response," Munn said.

Additionally, Travis' role in the community also continues after the flames are extinguished, Munn said. Several members of the base's fire department were involved in a joint Community Emergency Response Team with the Fairfield Fire Department to pass out flyers and inform those affected by the Marigold blaze.

Munn said interdepartmental cooperation is essential in fighting fires together. "We're no different than any of the other city departments," he said. "We just happen to be tied to an Air Force base."

Reporters from the Daily Republic newspaper in Fairfield contributed to this report.