DOD’s 2023 Fire Prevention Program of the Year Focuses on Building Community Relationship > U.S. Department of Defense > Defense Department News

For Marine Corps Installations Pacific, just lately named the 2023 Protection Division hearth prevention program of the 12 months, the connection between hearth security professionals and the communities they serve is foundational.

Ulysses Taormina, the regional hearth chief of Marine Corps Installations Pacific Hearth and Emergency Companies, mentioned giving households the instruments and assets to stop fires or reply if one happens requires dedication by a big crew of security professionals lengthy earlier than the primary signal of smoke seems.  

It begins, Taormina mentioned, with the “unsung heroes” of the fireplace division: the fireplace inspectors.  

“They’re those that do group outreach,” he mentioned. “They’re those which can be going out and making certain that buildings are inbuilt compliance with the laws … they usually’re ensuring that we’re stopping issues from occurring.” 

Headquartered in Okinawa, Japan, Marine Corps Installations Pacific F&ES offers hearth suppression, emergency medical help and hearth prevention companies at installations all through the area.

Along with making certain the security of buildings and constructions on installations, Taormina mentioned the whole division works tirelessly to interact with base households and supply hearth prevention and security schooling as a part of the primary line of protection.

Lots of these initiatives contain participating with school-age kids all through the navy group to show them the fundamentals of fireside security, beginning with “cease, drop and roll.” 

“Now we have a very strong academic program the place we exit to the colleges,” he mentioned, including that their outreach contains packages for elementary via highschool kids. 

Along with offering an necessary alternative to show about hearth security, he mentioned the outreach program can be an necessary approach hearth service personnel keep linked with the group they serve.  

“It is about group relations and constructing a group that has a mindset about hearth security,” Taormina mentioned. 

Final 12 months, the Marine Corps Installations Pacific’s hearth prevention crew carried out greater than 1,238 hearth inspections on 1,363 services, resulting in an general annual inspection completion fee of 93%. Additionally they organized 155 public schooling occasions that reached greater than 9,000 individuals and accomplished greater than 560 hearth evacuation drills with participation from greater than 36,000 personnel.

These achievements led the Okinawa-based hearth prevention program to be acknowledged as a part of the 2023 DOD Hearth and Emergency Companies Awards in Might.  

Every year, the Assistant Secretary of Protection for Vitality, Installations, and Surroundings acknowledges three top-performing hearth departments at installations across the globe for reaching excellence in mission help and hearth safety administration.  As well as, a navy firefighter, civilian firefighter, navy hearth officer, civilian hearth officer, and hearth service teacher are acknowledged and awarded for his or her superior job efficiency, innovation, and excellent contributions to a DOD F&ES group. 

The ASD(EI&E) additionally acknowledges DOD’s high hearth prevention program primarily based on its depth and breadth, effectiveness, academic worth, and thoroughness in direct help of the group’s mission and set up resilience. 

Along with Marine Corps Installations Pacific F&ES, a number of different departments and people have been acknowledged for his or her achievements in 2023 throughout a number of classes.  

They embody: 

Hearth Division of the 12 months – Small Class: ninetieth Civil Engineer Squadron, F.E. Warren Air Drive Base, Wyoming; 
Hearth Division of the 12 months – Medium Class: Commander Fleet Actions Yokosuka, Japan; 
Hearth Division of the 12 months – Giant Class: 99th Civil Engineer Squadron, Nellis Air Drive Base, Nevada; 
Army Firefighter of the 12 months: Aviation Boatswain’s Mate Plane Handler First Class Petty Officer Anna Perez, Naval Assist Exercise Naples, Italy; 
Civilian Firefighter of the 12 months: Jeffry Frawley, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Value, Texas; 
Army Hearth Officer of the 12 months: Senior Grasp Sgt. Michael E. Nalley Jr., Joint Base San Antonio, Texas; 
Civilian Hearth Officer of the 12 months: Deputy Hearth Chief Adam J. Montoya, U.S. Military Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany; and 
Hearth Service Teacher of the 12 months: Interim Coaching Chief Tobias Lang, U.S. Military Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. 

Taormina mentioned the popularity is humbling and added that the award serves as a mirrored image of DOD’s dedication to security on the highest ranges of the division. 

“We do not do it to get acknowledged, however we do it for the security of the group,” he mentioned.  

Everybody within the division — from the fireplace inspectors to the firefighters and their Japanese companions — strives on daily basis to serve their group, Taormina mentioned.

“What I see day in and time out is nothing however a household, for one, a bunch of execs that completely loves what they’re doing,” he mentioned.  

“They’re within the job,” he mentioned. “They are not simply on the job.”