Firefighting training prepares VMT Fire Brigade
The Valdez Marine Terminal (VMT) fire brigade is a key part of Alyeska's response force

Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) workers must be prepared to quickly respond to every possible pipeline contingency, from extreme weather to earthquakes, wild fires, malevolent acts and equipment failures.

The Valdez Marine Terminal (VMT) fire brigade is a key part of this response force. Ideally, this fire team would never be needed. But it must always be ready. That's why VMT firefighters follow a strict, year-round training regimen that includes weekly fire practice at the terminal facility and quarterly field exercises. Every member of the brigade must also complete an annual fire academy training course.

In October, a team of VMT firefighters traveled to College Station, Texas to participate in an intense, live-fire training course at Texas A&M University's Emergency Services Training Institute.

The Institute trains some 12,000 firefighters every year and its 123-acre fire training facility includes a wide assortment of industrial fire props and actual petroleum-chemical processing equipment. Alyeska worked with Texas A&M fire instructors to design a two-day course that simulated a variety of potential VMT fire emergencies. The scenarios included different fire sizes, durations, fuel types and other complicating factors.

The training facility's large size allowed the fire brigade to train as a full team. Unlike past exercises that have featured classroom work, this training was exclusively field-based with live-fire, under the direction of the brigade's two fire chiefs, Brian Major and Robert Carlton.

"It was great to work with both of our chiefs at the same time," said Steve Pepper, Alyeska fire brigade member. "It's very important for the two of them to be able to evaluate each member of our team to learn the group's strengths and weaknesses."

"We learned a lot about each other, and I think we established a high level of trust in one another," said Robert Carlton, Alyeska fire chief. "Teamwork is an important element of the brigade's ability to respond effectively during an incident."

"Feedback from previous live-fire training classes has always been the same; our firefighters wanted more fires, less classroom and an opportunity to train together as a full team," said Carlton. "This course did all of that. It was excellent."