USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) (TR) in-port emergency team and Newport News Shipbuilding Fire Department (NNSFD) conducted an integrated fire drill aboard the aircraft carrier Jan. 30 to evaluate how effectively the two teams work together.
“The purpose of the drill was to train to make sure we know how to interact with NNSFD in case we need their support,” said Chief Warrant Officer Noel Genao, TR’s fire marshal. “If we do call for assistance, we need to be able to communicate and [NNSFD] needs to know their way around the ship.”
When the drill was called away, TR’s initial response team arrived on the scene and battled a simulated class bravo fire in the ship’s paint mixing and issue storeroom.
When the time came to request additional back-up, word was passed to personnel on the quarterdeck who called for outside support. Once aboard the ship, NNSFD received the turnover and relieved the Sailors manning the fire hose.
“It was definitely a good learning experience,” said Yeoman 3rd Class Eli Erickson, a member of TR’s initial response team. “There was cooperation between everybody, and the turnover with NNSFD was seamless.”
For the remainder of the drill, NNSFD and ship’s force worked in a combined effort.
“The drill went very well,” said Mark McTheny of NNSFD, who evaluated his team’s performance. “For the first type of drill that we’ve done, everybody was prepared and exercised what they needed to, and we had proper communications. However, we also found some areas that we need to learn from. But the overall drill was excellent.”
Those lessons learned will be used to improve future drills for ships that will arrive at Newport News Shipbuilding.
“The TR is the pioneer for these types of drills, because we’re setting the tone for all the other ships that will be coming into the shipyard,” said Genao. “We’re going to take all the lessons learned from this drill scenario and make it better for [USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)] coming in.”
TR is in the final months of refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) and is preparing to return to the operational fleet. USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) is next in line for RCOH at Newport News Shipbuilding.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, February 4, 2013; Image: US Navy