Maintenance Group excels at confined spaces exercise

  • Published
  • By Capt. Marnee A.C. Losurdo
  • 512th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Working in cramped spaces, such as the C-5's fuel tanks, can be a hazardous job. For this reason, the 512th Maintenance Group has an annual Air Force requirement to conduct an emergency evacuation exercise that evaluates maintenance members' ability to rescue personnel trapped in a confined space. 

This capability was evaluated by the Air Force Reserve Command Inspector General team April 25 as one of the requirements for the 512th Airlift Wing's Unit Compliance Inspection April 23-27. 

The IG rated the 512th Maintenance Group fully compliant on the exercise and the wing compliant on the UCI. 

"We have an evacuation plan in place in the event of an emergency," said Staff Sgt. Corey Barnes, a 512th Maintenance Squadron fuel systems repair journeyman and Air Reserve Technician. "This is something everyone in this career field needs to know. You never know when the situation will arise, and you'll have to save someone's life." 

The 512th MXS completed the exercise in hangar 715. Sergeant Barnes played the role of the entrant. He was the Airman who was passed out inside the bay between the C-5's fuel tanks in the aircraft's wings. This area is 10 feet wide and 3 feet, 5 inches tall. The entrance to the tank is on the underside of the wing. 

"The tank opening is barely 2 foot by 3 foot and is hard to pull someone through," said Chief Master Sgt. Chris Ford, 512th MXS superintendent. "Depending on where the mechanic is working inside the tank, it may be necessary to drag the person several feet to get them to the opening and then manually position them, so they can be pulled through the opening head first and by the shoulders." 

This was the first time Senior Airman Sabrina Kibler, 512th MXS fuel systems apprentice, participated in this type of exercise and was very nervous, she said. 

"There were a lot of people watching, and I knew I had to be on point with everything," said Airman Kibler. 

She played the role of the runner. 

"It was my job to call the fire department and inform them of the situation, and then take the position of the attendant and assist the other attendant in pulling the entrant out of the tank," said Airman Kibler. 

Fellow squadron member Tech. Sgt. Paul Spencer was the other attendant. His job was to monitor the entrance of and atmosphere within the fuel tank for oxygen levels and explosive limits and crawl inside the tank to rescue the entrant, he said. 

Sergeant Spencer and Airman Kibler removed Sergeant Barnes from the tank in three minutes, and the whole exercise took about 12 minutes to complete. 

MXG personnel, such as Sergeant Spencer and Airman Kibler, proved they can meet command requirements of getting out of a tight spot.