Fire and Emergency Services - 2020 Year in Review

As you well know, 2020 was a challenging year for all. As COVID-19 started to impact our daily lives, every person, family, and organization on the installation was affected in some way. The fire and emergency services (F&ES) department was not immune to the challenges presented by the pandemic; in fact, because we are a 24-7 operation, we eat, sleep, and bathe at work. Our unique work environment meant our precautions were quite different in application from most organizations on base.

As each new Italian decree was published, we adjusted, created and briefed new compliance procedures to our workforce. We were able to capture all of these lessons learned and incorporated to a pandemic standard operating guide to aid future responses to pandemics of the future. All of the mitigation measures proved effective as we maintained our mission to respond to any installation fire or emergency throughout the year.

The theme of COVID-19, though socially distanced, is teamwork. In mid-February, U.S. Naval Hospital Sigonella sought assistance. To minimize any potential spread of COVID-19 in the hospital and to maintain regularly scheduled appointments, they were seeking a shelter to allow them to screen patients outside the hospital prior to entry. The fire department took action to provide and erect a decontamination tent at the emergency room entrance. This tent allowed the hospital staff to screen patients prior to entry to the hospital in an effort to minimize the risk of contagion inside. We take pride in being able to provide a solution which allowed our NAS Sigonella community to continue to be seen by health care professionals for medical issues and concerns other than COVID-19!

On the firefighting side of the coin, every year, NCTS Niscemi endures brush fires in and around the site. In an effort to organize a response to these emergencies, we spearheaded discussions with the Sicilian Bureau of Land Management, Sicilian Forestry Department, city of Catania and Niscemi Fire Department to raise the level of fire protection for our two main installations and U.S. Transmitter Site in Niscemi. This effort had immediate benefits. The forestry department supported our efforts during two larger wildland fires on Niscemi and the large brush fire adjacent to NAS 1. This collaborative effort will strengthen our combined response to future brush fires and ensure we continue to protect our community and installation assets.

As we conclude 2020, we reflect on the teamwork and flexibility of our team with pride. They adjusted on the fly and took the initiative necessary to provide outstanding F&ES services to our entire NAS Sigonella community. We look forward to carrying this momentum into 2021.