A day in their shoes: Putting out the flames

by Airman 1st Class Ryan Conroy
31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

7/31/2014 - AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy  -- The alarm clock cuts through the silence of the night and he jumps from the bed, rubs his eyes and stumbles out into the darkness. The early-morning stupor wears away and it's time to be alert. When he finally walks into the station, he has to be ready - real alarms could sound at any time.

Airman 1st Class Joseph Cappel holds a heavy responsibility every day he puts on his uniform. Cappel is a firefighter with the 31st Civil Engineer Squadron. His occupation requires him to protect, but not in the sense of security. He ensures the safety of the people placed under his care, which happens to be the entire base populous.

Cappel says the burden isn't felt because of the enthusiasm his firefighting father instilled in him at a young age.

"I wouldn't say that firefighting is a job or a career" explains Cappel. "I would say that firefighting is a passion. It can't be something you do halfway. It has to be something real, something that's in your heart. My dad had the same passion and it was one of those things where I knew I wanted to step into his shoes growing up."

The day for Cappel starts like most in the Air Force - early. He wakes up at 6 a.m. to shave, shower and prepare for his 24-hour shift, where he'll be asked to respond to anything from a routine car accident to fighting aircraft and building fires in a moment's notice.

The shift begins with getting the gear ready before a daily roll-call. The oncoming shift and the outgoing shift line up in front of the chief and superintendent for the sake of continuity. The station chief addresses both shifts with any concerns and each shift relays important information before being dismissed to go home or begin checks.

"If you're a driver, this is when you go to see if the truck is working, if you have enough water, if you have enough fuel or whatever it is you need for your tour," said Cappel. "If you're a tailboarder, you're going to check to see if you have all the equipment you need and if it's in working condition. It's also good for the newer guys to familiarize themselves with the truck and see where everything is located."

After a thorough operations check on the trucks, each truck group breaks into training time with their crew chiefs, which is the title for the person responsible for the entire truck and everyone on it during their shift. Today, Cappel and his truck practiced tying knots and then moved onto emergency medical response training.

"Practicing knots may seem silly or boring," began Cappel. "But, you never know when knowing how to tie a certain knot can save a life in a rescue or during a mission."

After a long morning and a quick lunch, the assistant station chief calls everyone into the training room to go over different firefighting scenarios that the Airmen might encounter in a classroom education environment.

"We'll talk about what we did for the day, we'll go over game plans for upcoming exercises or inspections and we're always looking for the most efficient way to do things," said Cappel.

Once the assistant station chief feels that everyone understands the material, it is time to transition into administration duties and study time. The firemen utilize this time to take care of additional duties while the newer ones study their upgrade training. As Cappel says, there's always another certification to strive for, you're never really done training.

At 4:30 p.m., which is the end of the duty day for most occupations in the Air Force, the firefighters are released from their administration duties for what they affectionately call, "workout-thirty." It's important that firefighters are physically fit because of the possible challenges that could await them on every call.

Cappel organizes a fireman challenge course that consists of 10 pushups, a 100 meter sprint, 100 meter hose pull, 50 meter tire flip, 50 meter dummy drag and a cool-down lap around the building - all while in a gasmask with an oxygen tank strapped to his back.

"A lot of the guys like to go lift weights in the weight room," said Cappel. "But, my friends and I put together the challenge course because it's the stuff that you're actually going to be doing at a fire call. These are the things that you need to be used to doing."

Working out allows Cappel to take care of his family, he said, and it allows him watch their back and for them to watch his. At the end of the day, the firefighting family is all that matters.

"In the fire department, there are no male or female firefighters," Cappel explains. "We are all created as equals. Every one of us accomplished and overcame the same struggles and training to earn the title firefighter."