Hanscom fire department again garners best in AFMC Published Feb. 16, 2015 By Mark Wyatt 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- The 66th Civil Engineering Division Fire Emergency Services Flight was recently named the Air Force Materiel Command's Small Fire Department of the Year for 2014. The perennial AFMC winners will now compete in the same category among other major commands at the Air Force level. Winners at that competition will then compete for honors across all levels of the Defense Department. "The package recognizes accomplishments in several categories such as customer service, department-level awards, accreditation, firefighter health and wellness, as well as innovations or modernizations that raise the quality of life and service of Air Force fire departments," said Bob Hildreth, the 66th CES fire chief. Among the accomplishments the department was recognized for was their rapid response to an aircraft crash May 31 at the end of the Massachusetts Port Authority runway, which left all seven passengers on board dead. Hildreth highlighted that moments after the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration's Air Traffic Control tower activated the crash network to alert all 12 Hanscom firefighters on duty who responded within seconds. "The call came in over the internal PA system inside the fire station so everyone understood what was going on," said Daniel J. Dillon, Fire Emergency Services deputy fire chief, who was called in to assist with logistics during the crash response. "I could not have been any more proud of their response." The Air Force level winners will be announced at the International Department of Defense Fire Chief Conference later this year. "This is the eighth time we've won at the AFMC level in nine years," Hildreth said. "But it gets even tougher at the Air Force-level because there are so many great programs out there." Another accomplishment the team was lauded for was their quick response to a pregnant woman in distress. "Our team provided textbook lifesaving efforts on a pregnant woman who was bleeding badly," Hildreth said. "As a result of their efforts, both mother and baby survived." Hildreth highlighted the support his department gives and receives from the surrounding communities, which was evident during the aircraft crash when they worked with local towns on recovering victims. "Our guys did a great job working with Bedford Fire and their rescue unit, as well as Waltham Fire and their rescue unit recovering the victims," Dillon said, who noted the base team worked alongside firefighters from Bedford, Lexington, Lincoln, Concord and Waltham, Mass. during the response. The Hanscom chief also noted other mutual aid success stories. "We responded to a fuel tanker rollover on a busy thoroughfare off base," he said. "As a result of the superb fire protection we provided, hazardous material was removed safely." In addition, base firefighters captured several local and command-level team and individual awards in 2014. Hildreth believes that while they don't have to respond to active fires often and they're classified in the small base category, the Fire Services team has the capabilities and performance standards of a large base. "We're a small base operation but we perform at the large base level," Hildreth said.