The Pine Bluff Arsenal Fire and Emergency Services have won the Small Fire Department of the Year for 2008 for the Installation Management Command Southeast Region.
"Being a special installation, we are in a very unique category and it is very tough to compete," said Tom Braumuller, PBA fire chief. "What makes PBA special is the fact that we are an Army working capital fund installation, as well as house a chemical weapons stockpile. In the grand scheme of things, there is a small fraction of departments that fit this category."
He said that in years past, PBA came very close to winning. "With all of our unique missions, it was difficult to break through that barrier, but this year we did," said Braumuller. "We finally broke through. I am very proud of the guys here - they worked very hard to achieve this and they deserve it."
The people here at the Arsenal should feel proud of the fact that the firefighters here are some of the best in the Army, according to Braumuller
"We are actually competing against five other regions for the Army-wide award. So at this point, we are one of the top five small fire departments," he said, adding that one of the department's they are competing against - the Northeast region small department winner, Fort Monmouth, N.J. - is the department Braumuller transferred from to the Arsenal. "There is a bit of rivalry there. However, the competition is tough because Fort Monmouth has won region, Army-wide and across DoD for 14 consecutive years. I just want to beat them."
Braumuller said that a lot of the reason why they won SE Region is because of the department's emergency response. "This falls under customer service. We have certain requirements for our timed responses and have to adhere to certain things," he said. "This may seem rather simple to some people but from the time the alarm comes into the station, the firefighters have one minute to be dressed and out the door. If they are in the back of the station, they have to come up front and get in full gear and roll with the truck all within that minute. There are days when we stopwatch them to make sure the times are there."
Our staff is very quality oriented, said the fire chief. "It is a team effort for us. We can't do our job without all the help from everyone on the installation," he said. "Having a fire department win a regional award is a big deal. If you look at the big picture, it is pretty amazing."
In the write-up for the award, things such as department level awards, innovativeness and quality of life initiatives for the firefighters, family and guests was sited.
The following are just a few of the outstanding achievements of the department:
*Twenty-two achievement medals for civilian service awards by installation commander.
*Star Safe Work Zone - 98 percent on the Arkansas Occupational Safety and Health Compliance Program and 1500 compliance rating from the National Fire Protection Association. No loss time injuries and near misses for a third consecutive year.
*Engineered and converted utility terrain vehicle to medivac injured hunters and Soldiers in isolated wooded areas on and off installation.
*Partnered with Alabama Fire College for regional driver operator aerial school. Student from all over U.S. attended the school.
*Upgraded AEDs on all first response and support vehicles while providing CPR training to installation civilians.
*Installed Firefighter Challenge workout area and upgraded fire station fitness center with state of art equipment.
*Adopted by local school autistic and special needs children to present fire safety program to meet their needs.
The newest addition to the fire department includes a rescue boat, donated by the Arsenal's Natural Resource office. "This boat, which is 18 feet, is rigged for the lake and the river so it is very ideal," said Braumuller. "We don't anticipate any river rescues; however, if the Coast Guard calls us we are prepared."
The boat is currently being checked out at the motor pool. "We will check it out again once we get it back. About half the department is currently trained on boats, and we have just a couple of SOPs to write on the boat operation and will be good to go," he said. "We will be on the lake the day of the Employee Appreciation Day fishing tournament. Then we are going to bring the boat, which is going to be called Marine 1, back to the firehouse and paint it and tag it so everyone will know it belongs to us."
Braumuller said that winning SE region is right up there with our ISO ratings. "It might not help us sell the product, but it adds a measure of quality to Pine Bluff Arsenal," he said. "Not only can they talk about how good the installation is in the area of safety and the quality of the product, they can say the Arsenal's fire department is best in the southeast."
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