Stories

​While all KBR employees around the world receive significant training for the unique and challenging tasks they face, KBR's firefighters and EMTs undergo especially rigorous preparation so they are well-equipped to face emergency situations and potentially extreme conditions. KBR's firefighters and EMTs serve alongside KBR's U.S. military customers in locations like Iraq, Kosovo, Djibouti, and Poland and must be prepared to protect people, property, and the environment from fire and medical emergencies when called into action.

KBR's firefighters are trained to address all types of emergencies such as aircraft recovery, crash fire rescue, structural fires, support for hot refueling, and are highly specialized to handle hazardous materials. In just the past year, these 270 men and women have faced a wide variety of emergency situations from fighting large fires, handling aircraft incidents, and even supporting a Navy Seal mission.
     
In order to maintain proficiency in an array of subjects, KBR's firefighters and EMTs are involved in over 120 hours of training annually. This amount of training is necessary to prepare for real emergencies by reducing the effects and loss of life and property. As KBR sites around the world are established with new equipment and personnel, it is imperative that employees maintain a state of readiness while working with new teams as well as the equipment on site.
KBR firefighters work in some truly remarkable environments including Camp Taji, Iraq where temperatures can reach 116°F in the summer and the remote location can make what is already a tough job especially difficult. To offset these challenges, the KBR Camp Taji Fire Department employs a multifaceted approach to training and improving the safety and quality of life for residents on base through bi-monthly KBR proctored fire warden classes and coordinated rescue and recovery drills with the customer. In one such recent drill, the KBR Crash, Fire and Rescue teams performed a training exercise evaluating response time and identifying proficiencies and deficiencies within the team's function. This all inclusive training approach proved to be invaluable on a late evening in February when an approaching C-130 aircraft notified the Iraqi Air Traffic Control Tower it was in need of Crash, Fire and Rescue. Two KBR firefighting trucks arrived on scene within 120 seconds of notification and immediately addressed the threat of leaking fuel by laying down foam. The KBR team's quick reaction helped mitigate the substantial fire risk. Post landing, Fire Department personnel plugged the source of the approximate 500 gallon fuel leak and then reapplied foamed to the affected area rendering the scene clear and fire safe. Cleanup of the contaminated tarmac commenced immediately with the KBR Fire Department and others working continuously into the early hours of the next day. The following day, KBR Fire Department's repairs enabled the military aircraft to make the return trip to its home station.
     
KBR's extensive firefighting training also proved indispensable earlier in January when a fire emergency happened in the middle of the night at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo. The KBR Fire Department responded immediately to a 911 report of two burning buildings. Despite valiant efforts to fight the fire, including over six hours of heavy firefighting in freezing conditions on uneven territory in the dark of night, the result was total building damage. However, fortunately and most importantly, no injuries were sustained.

KBR firefighters provide necessary services to help maintain safe living and working quarters for U.S. soldiers and military personnel around the world.  Over the years, the brave men and women of the KBR Fire Department have responded to countless emergency situations on military facilities and in communities in order to protect and reduce loss of life and property. KBR firefighters and EMTs look forward to continuing to provide these important and vital services in order to support the U.S. military's mission in any location.