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In-Port Emergency Team Prepares for Crew to Move Aboard

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080628-11
Release Date: 6/28/2008 9:06:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Nicholas Hall, Pre-Commissioning Unit George H.W. Bush Public Affairs

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (NNS) -- The Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) George H.W. Bush's (CVN 77) In-port Emergency Team (IET) practiced every Tuesday and Thursday for the past month to prepare for any emergencies the crew might encounter when they officially move aboard the ship later this summer.

PCU Bush's Engineering Department Damage Control division conducted the drills, designed to help team members learn the different roles Sailors have when fighting a fire, to include hosehandlers, nozzlemen, boundarymen and investigators.

Hosehandlers, as the name implies, take the fire hose to the fire. Nozzlemen control how water is put on the fire. Boundarymen place smoke curtains around the boundary of the fire. Investigators find the fire, assess the damage, and on occasion are the first firefighters.

"We walk each member of the IET through their job," said Damage Controlman 1st Class (SW) Adam Brailer, one of the facilitators.

The importance of these drills is not lost on the team members.

"This training is important. If one person messes up, who knows what could happen?" said Machinist's Mate Fireman Bryan Peoples.

According to PCU Bush's Fire Marshall, Chief Warrant Officer Roger Cooke, after the crew moves aboard, drills will be conducted daily and will be more realistic, complete with smoke and lighting.

Many other scenarios will be incorporated into the training as the drills broaden in the coming months in an effort to give the IET teams as much practice as possible.

Although everyone on Bush is not on the IET team, every Sailor on the ship is trained as a firefighter.

"Just because there is an IET team, does not mean that other Sailors should forget basic damage control," said Cooke. "The safety of the ship is everyone's responsibility."

For more news from Pre-Commissioning Unit George H.W. Bush, visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn77/.