JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
Two calls for help came in a matter of a few hours Oct. 14, and the Joint Base Andrews Fire Department responded to both and assisted the local community.
"Andrews Squad 74 was called to an accident involving an overturned sport utility vehicle with unknown occupants trapped inside near a river in the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department responding area," said Senior Airman Timothy J. Mulvaney, 316th Civil Engineering Squadron firefighter and Squad 74's 3rd-seater. "While finishing up, we received a call for a fire at the American Legion in Clinton, Md."
Andrews Squad 74 crew consisted of Airman Mulvaney, Airman 1st Class Alexander Malcolm, 316 CES firefighter and the squad's 4th-seater, Donald Simms, 316 CES firefighter and driver, and Lt. Michael Emond, 316 CES firefighter crew chief.
Airman Mulvaney said Squad 74 members stabilized the SUV using the wench off the front of the fire truck, then he and Airman Malcolm proceeded to cut through a guardrail that went through the driver's-side door and was lodged behind the seat of the driver.
No one was found inside the vehicle at the time of arrival, but that call was just the beginning.
"After the accident was turned over to the wrecking company, an alarm came in for the American Legion ... so we then proceeded to the fire there," Airman Mulvaney said.
All four crew personnel searched for the cause of the odor of smoke, with Mr. Simms eventually finding the cause.
"The cause of the fire seemed to be from the conduction of the heat from the cooking surfaces through the side sheeting of the stove and onto a board in the wall," explained Airman Mulvaney. "The board and wall received charring and smoke damage. The area was then soaked with water and the incident was then found to be fire safe with no other areas being affected."
Though not intense, the fire could have been a larger problem for Squad 74 if it had gone undetected.
"The fire was located between the kitchen and the rear storage room just past the bar area at the front of the building and located directly next to the cooking surfaces being used," Airman Mulvaney said. "If the crews did not make such an intense effort into finding the location of the smell of smoke leading to the end spot being identified, this incident could have been proven to be a much more serious problem at a later time during the night if the situation had been left undiscovered."
The Andrews Fire Department regularly responds to the community outside the gates, if their assistance is needed.
The mutual aid agreement is a key component to the unified partnership Andrews has with the local community.
"The agreement not only provides experience with real-world diverse emergencies for our firefighters, but it also provides a service to our community by providing a cross flow of information, training techniques and manpower at no additional cost to either organization," said Senior Master Sgt. Christopher Mohr, Joint Base Andrews Fire Emergency Services chief. "The agreement is something we are very proud of at Andrews. We are one of the few installation that provide this level of service and support to our community partners. We know that we can count on them, and they know that they can count on us."