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Andersen Fire and Emergency Services Recognized

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Nichelle Griffiths
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --  Thirty three Andersen were awarded Air Force Achievement Medals and six Team Andersen civilians were awarded the U.S. Air Force Civilian Achievement Award here Aug. 1 at Fire Station One.

"This is the first time in the history of the Air Force that there were 39 recipients of the Achievement Medal for an incident of this magnitude," said Senior Master Sgt. Richard Lien, 36th Civil Engineer Squadron deputy fire chief.

The firefighters demonstrated their abilities while responding to the Air Force's first B-2 Class A mishap.

According to Sergeant Lien, the firefighters put their emergency response tactics training into action by effectively fighting flames reaching over 300 feet. He said they extinguished fire with temperatures reaching 1,500 degrees caused by 20,000 pounds of jet fuel in a six-hour firefight.

"They were credited for saving the black boxes; their efforts help put the remaining grounded B-2 bombers back into flight," added Sergeant Lien.

Their efforts protected 59 emergency responders, two pilots and the base populace.