Westlake Fire Department trains with MedEvac unit from Fort Polk
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A 1st Battalion, 5th Aviation Regiment helicopter from Fort Polk is used during a training session Thursday morning with members of the Westlake Fire Department. (Emily Burleigh / American Press)
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A 1st Battalion, 5th Aviation Regiment helicopter from Fort Polk is used during a training session Thursday morning with members of the Westlake Fire Department. (Emily Burleigh / American Press)
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A 1st Battalion, 5th Aviation Regiment helicopter from Fort Polk is used during a training session Thursday morning with members of the Westlake Fire Department. (Emily Burleigh / American Press)
Firefighters with the Westlake Fire Department spent Thursday morning conducting joint training operations with the 1st Battalion, 5th Aviation Regiment.
The 1st Battalion, 5th Aviation Regiment – otherwise known as Cajun Dustoff – collaborated with WFD to organize hoist and water rescue exercises.
WFD gathered on the shore of the Calcasieu River while the Cajun Dustoff helicopter landed. Within the hour, participants were practicing hoist operations, extraction efforts in which civilians are rescued from land or water via helicopter during emergencies. The training simulated several real-world disaster scenarios to bolster the fire department's emergency response capabilities.
The multi-organizational training is paramount with a rise in natural disasters, a phenomenon Southwest Louisiana is all too familiar with, said Maj. Shane Curran, commander, Cajun Dustoff. The region is still recovering from Hurricanes Laura and Delta, while simultaneously fortifying in preparation for future events.
'This is why we're trying to build these relationships with our local emergency friends,' Curran said. 'This is going to help us if we ever get called to work on, whether it be a natural disaster or a local emergency, we've already done the training with the local fire departments.'
Cajun Dustoff is an active-duty MedEvac unit stationed at Fort Polk and the Joint Readiness Training Center. The regiment conducts all military training events on Fort Polk, responds to search and rescue missions, and is utilized for local hospital transfers, he said.
The main goal of the exercises with local emergency response teams is to continuously increase interoperability between Army assets, like Cajun Dustoff, and local emergency response teams, he said.
WFD Chaplain Kyle Doty, who has been with the department for two and a half years, said WFD's role during emergency response scenarios is 'Rural One.' Due to the department's proximity to the water and swift water rescue training, WFD is the immediate response team.
'We're first on scene.'
The firefighters are already trained and equipped for land and water rescues, but the joint training operations will integrate aviation-based response into WFD's toolbelt.
'Hoist' is one of the most difficult emergency operations, Curran said. By familiarizing the Westlake firefighting personnel with hoist operations, WFD will be equipped with the expertise they need to help retrieve civilians during emergencies.
WFD Fire Chief Jonathan Duff said one of WFD's new firefighters, John Dalgleish, put the training in motion.
Dalgleish spent most of his career teaching at the United States Military Academy, West Point. After joining the department, he worked to coordinate the training with Cajun Dustoff, a regiment that has worked with WFD before.
'We're always looking for something new and cutting edge,' Duff said. 'If we're going to use them, we might as well spend some significant amount of time training with them.
'We like to think that we're one of the hardest-working fire departments around, and we've got the best military in the world, so, here we are.'
Later down the line, Cajun Dustoff officers will come to Westlake to get swift water training in return. The partnership is an exchange of emergency preparedness education that will continue to strengthen the region's emergency response readiness, he said.
A majority of WFD's firefighters are retired military and are already cross-trained, Doty said, but this is the first paramilitary training he has participated in. He was 'pumped' to get up in the air.
'I'm not really as nervous as a lot of people might think,' he joked. 'I'm just looking forward to the next time we can do this again.'
Curran said this exercise was hopefully the first in a series of training events with the Westlake Fire Department.
'We just love getting out, getting to work with the local community,' he said. 'That's what it's all about – just taking care of each other and we're super excited to train with these guys.'
Duff said they expect joint training to occur on an annual or biannual basis.
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