Infantry Hot Shots Fight Fires in Alaska
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Infantrymen everywhere are trained to fight the kind of fire that comes from guns, but in Alaska, infantrymen and other soldiers are also trained to meet the challenge of honest-to-goodness blazes.
“Hot Shots” are soldiers of the 172nd Infantry Brigade, which would normally have no role in fire fighting. Soldiers from infantry, artillery and support companies at Fort Richardson in Alaska provide manpower needed to supplement the regular 50-person fire department.
Alerted for brush fire
A brush fire near Arctic Valley last May showed the value of the teams. The primary Hot Shot team responding to the fire came from Company C, 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry. Ten soldiers, led by Lieutenant Lanobio Toledo and Staff Sergeant Chris Schell, reported to the fire station within 30 minutes of being alerted, shortly after 11 p.m. on a Friday.
Meanwhile, another 25 infantrymen were put on standby.
The primary team remained at the station pending the fire chiefs decision on the fire’s seriousness. The men finally returned to their unit about 3 a.m. It wasn’t until five hours later—after the fire had been brought under control by two four-man teams of regular fire fighters—that the Hot Shots went up the mountain as a mop-up force.
Ferried to the scene by a helicopter of the 120th Aviation Company, the infantrymen, guided by Assistant Fire Chief Jim King, immediately set to work. They donned 5-gallon back packs and trudged more than a mile to the scene through thick grass and woods.
Work on hot spots
The infantrymen found hundreds of hot spots—large logs and tall trees smoking, thick muskeg (vegetation) smoldering. The soldiers spread out over the ridge and began chopping, digging and spraying. The site covered an area of the Chugach foothills almost a mile by a mile and a half. Danger of the fire reviving and spreading was made real by mountain winds 15 to 20 mph that buffeted the mountain.
At 11 a.m. Saturday, King decided more manpower was needed and alerted the reserve force. In 20 minutes, the 25 4th Battalion soldiers on standby were ready to be taken to the scene. Nearly 40 soldiers worked until after 3 p.m. to snuff the last remnants of the fire.
Commenting on the Hot Shots, Fire Chief E. J. Sims said, “There was absolutely no delay in the team’s response. They prevented the fire from flaring up and spreading.”
US Army Photo by Rod Williams
